Dawn of Power
by Lady Amaya
Summary: Sequeal! Uzumaki Robin always walked the path others told her to. But now that Gaara is leaving, Robin becomes confused and lost. She leaves the others to find her pwn path as the Emotionless Executioner. NH SS KOc GOc IOc
1. Ease my Troubled Mind

Alright, if you haven't read my other fics then don't worry. There might be references but they will be explained. Anything important will be explained. Also, I had written up to chapter 15 and posted all thata stuff, but due to complants which I agreed with, I decided to revamp my story.

P.S. If I owned Naruto, Kakashi would be mine!

_**Dawn of Power**_

Ease My Trouble Mind

A young woman took a deep breath. Her eyes were closed and her long light blonde hair was in a braid. A black hat covered the top of her head and was pulled down to block one eye from view. Her pale porcelain face was emotionless as she laid against the soft green grass.

"Robin-kun." Her bright green eyes snapped open. A man, only a year younger than herself smiled brightly down at her. His sky blue eyes danced with amusement the wind caused his blonde hair to sway gently. With a sigh she stood up and pressed her painted black upper lip against her pale lower lip as her thoughts collided with each other. As she stood her sleeveless red long coat fell down to just passed her knees. It blocked her black tank top and black shorts from view for a moment as she reached down and picked up her naginata. Her black boots that went up halfway to her knees made no noise as she walked over to the young man. She reached back with her fingerless gloved hands and twirled her weapon above her head. After a moment she brought the weapon down, causing the younger man to jump back to avoid being hit. "Geez, sorry to wake you!" She scoffed at the idea and turned her back.

"Naruto, I do not disturb you if you choose to meditate." She moved away from h, letting the wind pick up and blow her coat around in the air.

"Robin-kun?" Naruto blinked, confused. After a moment he ran after her.

"Is there something you need cousin?" He shook his head.

"Iie. Just wanted to see you."

"Why?" Robin turned to face her cousin after her question.

". . . you seem . . . sad." Robin closed her eyes and sighed.

"Gaara will need to return to his village in less than a week. He's packing right now." Naruto's eyes softened at the mention of Gaara. The two had been going out for nearly six months. ". . . . they say that he will become Kazekage soon." Robin turned away from Naruto and continued to walk. Naruto took a moment to realize this and hurried after her.

"Robin-kun, I'm sure that Gaara and you will-" Robin cut Naruto off.

"I know." She gave off another sigh and sent a glance towards him over her shoulder. "Everyone tells me the same things. It will work out."

"Hai. Look at Kakashi-sensei and Setsuko-neechan! She was gone for three years but they got married." Robin stopped once more, causing Naruto to almost bump into her.

"You're a jounin now. You don't need to call him sensei anymore." Naruto shrugged, not truly caring.

"I guess you're right. But old habits die hard." Robin shook her head at her younger cousin's reply.

"How can you be so optimistic?" Naruto smiled sadly at the ground as memories flashed through his mind.

"Because it used to be the only way to get through the day. The thought that things would get better." The sorrow vanished and his smile became right and sunny. Naruto looked up at Robin. "But then I became a part of team 7, I learned about our cousin Setsuko, and then another six cousins showed up too." Robin turned and began to walk away again. "Come on Robin, let's go visit Gaara!" Robin shook her head, not stopping her pace.

"Gaara and I belong to two different villages. Our duties come first. That is the way of the ninja." Naruto stepped in front of Robin.

"What about your ninja way!" He demanded harshly. Robin stared at him, no emotion showing in her eyes as she spoke.

"My ninja way . . . . . . is none of your concern, Naruto-kun." She brushed passed him, disappearing from sight.

* * *

Robin jumped from tree to tree, her naginata held loosely at her side. _'. . . my ninja way?'_ Robin stopped on a branch as she thought. She exhaled slowly and looked up through the branches and leafs to see specks of blue and white. She reached up and clutched her hand over her heart. She stepped off the branch and fell to the ground, landing with a light thud. _'I . . . . I'm not like everyone else. I don't need a ninja way . . . . the only path I walk is one of duty . . . and I hate everyone that thinks things will be alright if I just try hard enough.'_ Robin walked through the forest as her thoughts wandered. _'Don't they get it? Love doesn't conquer all! It can't! Otherwise . . . . otherwise Mother would not have given up. She would have not abandon me . . . . like Gaara.'_ Robin tightened her grip on her naginata and swung it at a tree, leaving a deep cut.

". . . . I need to sharpen it." She needed a distraction. Anything to keep her mind of of him. _'It's not fair.'_ She thought as she stared down at her blade. _'Everyone is leaving me behind . . . .'_

"It's not like you to let it get blunt." A deep harsh voice caused Robin to turned and glare at a woman leaning against a tree. She wore black silk pants and a very baggy white long sleeved shirt over it. A long dark green vest was over it and a gold silk ribbon was tied tightly around her waist. Two bracelets were around each ankle and her feet were clad in golden Arabian slippers. Her white hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail with her bangs grown out to her chin, most swept to her right side of her faces and the rest to her left. Her green eyes showed a depth of concern for the younger woman.

"What are you doing here Tenshi?" Tenshi shrugged and stood up straight.

"Heard you we feeling down."

". . . you spoke with Naruto?" Tenshi nodded and Robin narrowed her eyes. Anger was staring to boil inside of her. Was everyone thinking she had to be helped? Did everyone think that she needed help? She was a jounin! She was the Emotionless Executioner! She had been raised since birth to be a perfect ninja. Did they not understand that she just wanted to be alone? She didn't need them coming to her rescue! She didn't want to be helped! She just wanted to be left alone. Why did they insist on acting like they cared? She felt her heart ache as she remembered the intimate moments she shared with Gaara. He knew the pain she felt but he decided to leave. He acted like he cared but he didn't. It hurt her just to think of him.

"Listen Robin, just because Gaara is going back does-"

"I KNOW!" Robin yelled, cutting off Tenshi. Tenshi looked at her younger cousin in surprise and shock. Robin was not one to be angered so easily. But Tenshi didn't realize that this anger had been building up since the moment that Robin heard Gaara was going back. "I know already, so just back off!" She spun around, her anger pouring out of her as she ranted. All her anger, pain, and sadness poured off of her as she could no longer suppress it. "I don't the advice of from my _male_ cousin who is dressed like a woman! You and Anko are getting along just fine so go bug her! You are not wanted here!" Robin turned and ran off, throwing another yell over her shoulder. "Why can't you people just leave me alone!" Robin ran even harder, anger blinding her actions. They didn't understand. They didn't understand how it was like to be abandoned. To be used and thrown aside. She had thought Gaara understood. But he decided to leave her. He put the Hidden Sand before her. And it killed her. Her legs began to ache but she ignored it. Robin dropped the naginata as she ran but she did not stop. She did not even notice. She was too caught up in fighting off her pain. She was suppose to be emotionless. But when it came to Gaara she displayed so much emotion. She had given him her heart. She had given him what was left of her. And he was leaving. When branches and twigs scrapped her, she paid no mind to it. Robin refused to let tears fall. She would not be considered weak for any reason. "I will not be like her! I will not!" She muttered to herself as she sprinted through the trees. Her chest felt heavy and constricted but she kept running. Finally, she slowed to a stop and her legs gave out. Robin panted, trying to regain her breath. Robin stared up at the sky. ". . . his duty calls for him . . . and I can no longer hold him back from it." Finally, tears poured down her cheeks as she sobbed bitterly. Everyone was leaving her behind. And no matter how hard she ran, she could never catch up.

* * *

Soft gray eyes stared into a calm fire. A young woman sitting in front of it reached up and brushed away a strain of jet black hair. Her hair had three different lengths, her bangs fell onto her forehead and did not tred pass it, some hair by her face was cut to chin length and the rest tumbled down her back. She wore red pants and a oriental top. It had long sleeves and it reached down pass her but as though it was a dress. The bottom half was red and ended at a gold line close to her armpits. The rest was an eggshell white. In between the two colors and on her heart was a yin-yang. The shirt was trimed with a dull gold. She had black slip on shoes. Her hair was pulled up in a pony tail and had a tight braid looped around the ponytail.

"Yoko . . . ." The woman turned at the voice and saw Tenshi.

"Yes, Tenshi?" Tenshi entered the room and stared at the fire.

"Robin ran off."

"I saw through the holy fire." Yoko sighed and stared the fire in front of her as Tenshi sat down next to her. "With my abilities as a meiko I am granted visions. The one I have received shows that Robin must learn to walk her own path." Tenshi looked at Yoko, confusion written across her face.

"Robin has always walked her own path." Yoko shook her head.

"Iie. Robin has always done what others excepted. When Robin killed her mother at four years old, it was because her mother forced her too. Her mother created her life, even after her assisted suicide. To learn Robin's special summonings Robin had to kill her mother to master her ultimate summoning, the vampire god that's powers were infused into her body for certain periods of time. After that, I forced Robin to become the 'Emotionless Executioner' to protect our old home, the Celia mountains. She became a Leaf-nin because she was Uzumaki and a shinobi. She's seventeen and now the man she loves, Gaara, is leaving her. He's moving on and she can't. It's killing her." Tenshi looked down and sighed.

"Hai. Normally she wouldn't yell at me. But . . ." Tenshi trailed off, tears in her eyes.

"Tenshi?" Yoko reached out concerned for her cousin. Tenshi looked back.

"Do you think I should give up wearing pretty clothes and dress like a man?" Yoko felt her eyes twitch as Tenshi fought back tears. "I know I have to body of a man, but honestly! I do have the soul of woman!"

* * *

Alright people! I hope that now there's alittle more insight to Robin now. Also, if there are any problems, please tell me. It helps me. Also, please review. I like the reviews because I learn my mistakes. But I need to tell you people, I know my grammer isn't the best. And before I forget, the plot line is going to be the same as the first verison. But this time I will hopefully display Robin's reasons and emotions better. If you guys have any ideas on how to make Robin more believable, please tell me. 


	2. Missing Leafnin

Missing Leaf-nin

Robin watched the stars above her. She had been laying there for hours, not truly caring what happened. She had let her mind go, the pain of being all alone too much for her mind. Every time she tried to think, she would remember _her_. Her mother. The first person to abandon her. Definitely not the last. She sighed heavily. She couldn't take it any more. Being abandoned . . . . it hurt too much.

"Why . . . why does everyone grow beyond my grasp." She closed her eyes and balled her hand into a fist. "Why am I left behind?"

"Perhaps it is time to leave everyone else behind." Robin sat up and spun around, backing away from Uchiha Itachi. The Akatsuki robe swayed in the breeze as Robin stared down the man. She moved for her naginata only to realize she had dropped it. Cursing her clumsiness she barely managed do react to Itachi when he hurled an object at her. Robin jumped up in the air and pulled out two blades from her boots. With ease she threw them towards, Itachi, causing the older man to jump away as she landed on her feet with a light thud. Itachi pointed towards the object he threw, causing her to look and see her naginata. "I was granted the honor of extending an invitation to you." Robin's eyes narrowed as she held a small dagger from her coat. Luckily she had hid daggers all over her body. Blades were one of her specialties. All the pain and sorrow she had been feeling left her as she donned the mask of the Emotionless Executioner.

"I do not have the chakra required to summon a demon." His eyes did not waver as they stared into her own.

"We know." Her glare pierced into his eyes. "Robin, someone with your talents shouldn't be wasted on Konoha." Robin threw her blade towards Itachi's head and charged forward, grabbing her naginata as she passed it. Itachi dodged the blade and blocked Robin's naginata with a kunai. With ease he pushed her back and swept her feet out from under her and charged forward. Robin flipped backwards and landed on her feet, pointing her naginata at Itachi's throat, stopping him in his tracks. "Finish it." Robin stared at him, emotion void.

"Answer my questions."

"Take this opportunity and move up in the world." Itachi's voice came from behind her, causing her to look back and see him holding a kunai to her throat. "You are good, Robin. Very good. But you have one flaw, you aren't fast enough." Robin jumped away before Itachi could do anything and she twirled her naginata before pointing it towards Itachi once more.

"It's true that I don't have speed like Tenshi, but I do have something better." Strange markings appeared onto her skin. After a moment they slowly burned themselves off. She slammed one of her hands onto the ground. The ground shook as hundreds of different weapons emerged from the ground, each one connected to the ground by a chain. The sea of weapons rose up into the air and came towards Itachi. "Forbidden jutsu from the Uzumaki scrolls." Itachi disappeared, causing Robin to narrow her eyes and glance towards a tree. Weapons dashed towards the tree, making Itachi jump from the tree and dodge the weapons coming at him from all angles. After a minute of dodging the weapons Itachi began to use his kunai to block the weapons and knock them back. An eye had appeared on Robin's forehead, the black ink it was made from stood out against her pale skin. Itachi dodged a sword only to be stabbed by a scythe. He looked up, surprised. Robin stood, a smirk on her face. Her green eyes were frosted over and the eye made from ink glowed.

"That jutsu . . ."

"Allows me to react five times faster than normal." Itachi felt his body being bound, his hands covered and useless to use any jutsu. The eye faded and Robin's eyes returned to normal. "Now, answer my questions! What is the Akatsuki planning!"

"You'll have to find that out by yourself." The Itachi bound disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "You're faster with that jutsu, but it only lasts for a short time." Robin spun around to face Itachi, her naginata pointed at his throat. He may have found the weakness of the jutsu but that didn't stop her. She had to be better. Everyone else was moving beyond her but she would prove that she was still a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

Gaara stared at Tsunade, not believing what she was saying.

"Tsunade-san, I do not believe this is the wisest choice." The 5th Hokage gave out a tired sigh.

"Gaara, Uzumaki Robin has been missing for a week. Yoko told me that Robin's soul has not departed with her body so we only have a few ideas on what happened to her."

"Akatsuki is a threat. Perhaps they took her." Tsunade shook her head.

"Unlikely. Even they know she does not have the chakra capacity required to summon a demon." Gaara pounded his fist onto her desk.

"But she can summon other things, just as deadly! She can even summon a person! They won't have to look for Naruto or myself if she just summons us." Tsunade narrowed her eyes in anger.

"True. But Robin can't be summon people over a large distance. A hundred meters tops. I doubt that Akatsuki doesn't know that."

"But-" Tsunade cut off any argument Gaara had.

"Gaara. Robin is a responsibility of the Leaf. Though you may have a relationship, that cannot interfere with your duties of Kazekage. Robin is Uzumaki. No person in their right mind would try to take her. She's not dead so she must be declared a missing-nin."

* * *

Yoko sighed and turned to Tenshi.

"What news on Robin?" Tenshi looked away, slightly ashamed. "Well?"

"Yoko . . . Robin-kun has been declared a missing-nin." Yoko felt her heart stop.

"I-impossible!"

"What is?" Yoko looked over to see Naruto enter the room.

"Naruto . . ." Tenshi didn't know how to break the news to her little cousin.

"Have they found Robin yet?" Yoko sighed, deciding to break the news to the fox vessel.

"Robin has been declared a missing-nin." Naruto froze, looking as if the world was turned upside down just then. And his opinion it had been.

"That's a lie." He whispered harshly.

"Naruto-" Naruto cut Tenshi off.

"That's a lie! She a jounin! She's got responsibilities! Do they think that she would just throw all that away!" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I'm gonna go talk some sense into that old hag!"

"No! Naruto . . . . Robin has to do this on her own." Yoko's voice stopped Naruto from running out the door. "For whatever reason, Robin is missing. She's not dead, I know that for sure. And whatever she is doing she has to do on her own. Otherwise, Robin will . . ." Naruto glared at the meiko.

"What will happen to Robin?" His demand was answered after a moment of silence.

"Robin needs to move forward in life. If she is helped . . . . I fear that she will never move forward."


	3. Sands of Time

Sands of Time

Gaara sighed and stared at his window. A month. For a month he had been Kazekage. The entire time he had been wondering where Robin disappeared to. For a month Uzumaki Robin had been a missing-nin.

"Kazekage-sama . . ." Gaara looked up to see his sister enter the room. "The reports on Akatsuki you asked for." She put down several scrolls. Temari turned to leave but her brother's voice stopped her.

"Temari . . ." She turned to look at her brother. ". . . . as a sister . . . . do you think I'm obsessing about Uzumaki Robin's disappearance?" Temari was silent for a moment, choosing her words carefully.

"I do think that this matter is out of your hands. Robin is a grown woman. Not only that, but she is of the Leaf. We have no jurisdiction there."

". . . thank you." Gaara turned away from his sister, expecting her to leave.

"But you loved her." Gaara snapped back to see his sister smiling softly. "You can't help the way you feel. Don't worry, I'm sure she'll show up."

* * *

"What are you saying, Hokage-sama?" Tsunade sighed as Hatake Setsuko stood in front of her.

"I want you to find Uzumaki Robin. She's got to be somewhere. As Uindo Bensha you might be able to use the wind to find her." Setsuko closed her eyes and nodded.

"A . . . knowledge chant might work."

"Good. Can you do it right now?" Setsuko sighed and nodded once more. She took two steps back and held out her hands.

"Powers of wind. Powers of all. Grant me the ancient ways. Bring forth to me the once lost mysteries." The wind picked up but abruptly stopped just as it started to swirl around Setsuko. Setsuko looked around, confused.

"Well?"

"Something is blocking the wind. That's all I know."

* * *

Naruto smiled as his girlfriend Hinata came into view. She had grown so much over the two years they had been together. No longer were there nervous habits. While she was still quiet and often shy, she had grown into a beautiful young woman.

"Gomen, Naruto. I was training and lost track of time." She smiled at him, making Naruto smile in return.

"That's alright, Hinata-chan." He shrugged, a sad look dancing in his eyes. "I was lost in thought so I didn't notice." Hinata caught the sad look and gave him a hug.

"It will be alright. Robin will come back." Naruto returned the hug before Hinata pulled away as they began to walk down the street.

"So . . . how was training?" Hinata smiled at him once more, a slight blush adorning her cheeks.

"Neji-nisan said I've almost beat him. But I just think he was being kind." Naruto gave her a pointed look.

"Geez Hinata, don't be so hard on yourself. I bet you could beat the stuffing out of him if you wanted to!"

"What are you yelling about dobe?" Naruto felt his eye twitch slightly as he turned to face Sasuke and Sakura.

"Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto shook his fist at Sasuke who merely rolled his eyes. A sadistic smirk crossed Naruto's face as he crossed his arms. "I'm a jounin and your a chuunin still. That makes me your superior. I deserve respect." Sasuke gave Naruto a wry glare.

"What you deserve is-" He was cut off when Sakura stomped on his foot. He bit back a startled cry and glared at Sakura. She indicated that Naruto wasn't looking at him but behind him. Sasuke turned to see an ANBU team heading toward the Hokage tower.

"Naruto . . ." Sakura trailed off, unsure how to comfort her former teammate. Naruto smiled sadly and waved it off.

"Iie. I'm sure that Robin is fine." Naruto scratched the back of his head before looking up at the sky. "I . . . . I've got to get home. Yoko said something about training." With a puff of smoke Naruto was gone. Hinata stared at the spot Naruto had been standing in.

"Poor Naruto. He's taking Robin's disappearance so hard." Sakura sighed and looked at Hinata.

"How's the rest of his family?"

"From what I heard from Naruto, Yoko spends most of her time mediating, hoping to get a vision, Akira spends any time he isn't working with his teammates and jounin instructor in his garden, and Tenshi has been devoting herself to the interrogation squad. I don't know about the other three." Hinata shook her head. "It isn't fair. Robin taught me so much! She even helped me learn to summon dragons but she's been branded a traitor!" It was rare for the quiet Hyuuga to raise her voice but she did so anyways. When she realized what she did, she placed a hand over her mouth, blushing from her outburst. Sakura gave her a comforting smile.

"I know. Robin has always been so devoted. There's no way she would throw it all away!" Sasuke nodded in agreement with the two.

"I don't think she would ever do anything to betray the leaf. It just isn't like her."

"Hai." Hinata whispered softly as thoughts of Robin filled her mind. "I can't believe Hokage-sama branded her a missing-nin."

"Neither can we." The three turned back to see two jounin walking up to them, Hatake Kakashi and his wife Setsuko. Setsuko pointed to a local tavern most ninja hung out in. "Let's talk in there. I'm hungry."

* * *

Naruto watched Yoko mediating in front of a fire.

"She's been like that for a hour." Naruto looked over his shoulder at Tenshi. "They don't need a genjutsu specialist today." Naruto nodded, accepting her reason for not being at work the interrogation squad. Naruto looked back to see Yoko still chanting under her breath and her eyes closed as she faced the fire.

"She won't give up until she knows what is happening with Robin, will she?" Tenshi sighed and shook her head, placing a hand on her younger cousin's shoulder.

"Iie. She feels guilty. She feels that she had a hand in forcing Robin to became the 'Emotionless Executioner' all those years ago. This is very personal to her. It makes her feel even worse to know that when we came to Konoha she gave you more attention than she did to Robin. She feels as though she played a large role in driving Robin away." She looked at Yoko's still form and sighed once more. "To make matters worse, Yoko can't see anything connected to Robin right now. All she knows is that Robin isn't dead."

* * *

"Nothing?" Sakura asked, amazed. Setsuko nodded slowly.

"I was surprised myself." She stirred the hot chocolate she had ordered. "While the wind has denied me information before, it was never blocked like that. Before it could even cause a serious breeze it stopped." She sighed before drinking her hot chocolate. Kakashi shook his head in amazement.

"From what I've heard, Gaara has been sending a lot of resources in order to find her or even a trace."

"Well, they were in love." Sakura commented softly as she stared down into her cup of water. "I hope she shows up soon."

"We all do." Setsuko whispered.


	4. Dark Side of the Moon

Dark Side of the Moon

The wind howled as it blew sand up into the air. It whipped the sand around and wore down the sand dunes. After the small sandstorm died down there was movement beneath the sand. Two figures broke through the sand, flying up into the air. They both landed with a soft thud. After a moment of brushing themselves off one began to move ahead of the other one and began to walk. The other followed, but at a slower pace.

"You seem impatient." A young man's voice ran int the other's ears. The other was silent, choosing not to speak to him. He kept on speaking, ignoring the lack of response. "I don't blame you." The man turned to his companion as they stopped and moved their head slightly to indicate that they were listening. "I just want to make sure you know what you are doing." Silence answered him. After a moment he snorted with disdain. "Listen, we're going up against a demon. You've gotta be sure you know what your getting' into." The other figure began to walk away, towards a large cliff. "Then again," he began, an amussed tone in his voice, "you of all people should know what you're getting into." The gentle wind caused their black cloaks with red clouds to sway. Akatsuki.

* * *

Gaara looked up to see his sister run into the room. A frantic look adorn her face as she gasped out her message.

"Gaara-sama! We're under attack!" He stood up quickly.

"Who?" Temari breathed heavily as she answered him.

"Akatsuki!"

"What!" Gaara roared, startled and angered at the same time.

"Two of them!" Gaara followed his sister out of the room.

"You're sure?"

"Hai!" Temari nodded, worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry. I will beat them."

* * *

Gaara landed next to a jounin along with Temari.

"What's the status?" He nodded to his sister who returned the nod and speed off to help fight. The jounin pointed upward.

"I've never seen anything like it before!" Tornadoes were appearing, one after another. The winds were dangerous as they blew through the village. Lightening poured down from the sky.

". . . I only know of one person able to control the wind, and the Leaf would never attack us." His eyes narrowed as he spotted two figures up high on a cliff, near the starting point of all the tornadoes. "There!" Gaara disappeared in a blur as he ran towards the two figures. The larger of the two turned towards him and moved their hands through a set of seals before sending a blast of fire toward Gaara. The fire took the shape of a dragon. Gaara's sand barely defended against the fire, some turning to glass. Gaara sent his sand forward, it moving with incredible speed towards the figures. Both jumped up high to avoid the sand, only to have the sand split and chase the two. The large figure sent more fire towards the sand while the other one moved their hands through a set of seals and lightening struck down the sand, the heat turning it to glass. Gaara glared at the two as they landed. They both were a short distance away from him. "Akatsuki." He hissed, seeing their cloaks and hats.

"Gaara of the Desert." The large of the two Akatsuki members removed his hat, casting it to the side. A man with short, pale blue hair and colorless skin glared at him with pitch black eyes. "We have come for you and your demon." Sand shifted around Gaara as he began to mold his chakra into it. The man turned to the shorter Akatsuki member. "I'll handle him." They nodded after a moment of stillness and stepped back, watching as the fight started. Gaara acted first, making his sand roar up into the air and crash down upon the man.

"I will let no one harm this village." He charged forward, a kunai out, ready to fight hand to hand if he needed to. Ribbons of sand flew forward as the man dodged them and sent a punch towards Gaara. A wall of sand blocked the punch and Gaara kicked out, hitting the man square in the chest. He watched as his opponent flip in the air to land on hi feet.

"Brat. You'll learn to respect Akatsuki." Gaara felt a cold smirk make its way onto his face.

"Respect? I only respect the Hidden Sand." He charged forward again and the two began to exchange blows.

"You're pretty arrogant for some punk kid!" The man snarled as he blocked a punch aimed for his head. Gaara glared at him and thrust his kunai forward, only to have it blocked by the man's kunai. The sand wrapped around his feet and tightened its grip on him, pulling his feet out from under him. His partner watched calmly as he was thrown back. He got up and wiped some blood away from his lip.

"Who are you two? Which missing-nins are you?" The man smirked.

"I don't think my partner would like me introducing them too much, so I'll just introduce myself. Name's Keizo Kyo." Kyo smiled at Gaara wickedly. "You won't be around long enough for that to matter though. You'll die here!" He charged forward and avoided the sand sent twaords him. He leapt over Gaara and landed behind him with his kunai driven forward toward Gaara's heart. A wall of sand blocked the kunai, causing Kyo to jump away to avoid the hand made from Gaara's sand. The hand followed Kyo around, effectively cutting off most of his chances to use a jutsu.

* * *

Yoko chanted softly, her eyes closed. Tenshi had come in earlier, only to be shunned and batted away. Yoko was almost ready to give up when a searing pain shot through her body. Her eyes snapped open and stared into the holy fire as images burned themselves onto her brain. She was thrown back onto the ground as she held her head in pain. 

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes would not focus and she could not hear Tenshi shouting her name. Yoko felt Tenshi shaking her and grabbed onto Tenshi's arms.

"Yoko! What is wrong!"

"Burning rivers and skies! Fire from hell has come!" She screamed, her mind reeling back from her sudden vision. "Flesh to stone! Eternal damnation!"

"Yoko," Tenshi pleaded, terrified of what was happening to Yoko. Yoko arched back in pain as she was bombarded with the images again. "Please, Yoko, tell me what is wrong!"

"Blood boiling! Skin melting! The screams of children!" Yoko cried, squeezing her eyes shut to try and block the visions. Yoko pressed her hands against her ears in a futile effort to drown out the noise. Yoko screamed in pain while Tenshi held her, trying to calm her cousin.

"Yoko, it isn't real! It's just a vision!" Yoko struggled to break from Tenshi's grip but failed as Tenshi only held on to her cousin tighter.

"The eternal sins! Beasts, feasting upon children!" She screamed in pain. "The dawning of hell is upon us! The dawning of hell!"

* * *

Gaara watched as Kyo tossed aside his cloak, revealing his muscular body as he wore only baggy black pants and nothing else, not even shoes. His hand flew through a series of seals. Kyo smirked as the giant hand flew at him. He pulled back his fist and punched the large hand, causing it to explode. Gaara took a step back in surprise. 

"See brat! That's my special ability. While I only know a few jutsu, my physical attacks will now explode whatever I hit!" Kyo dropped into a fighting stance.

". . ." Gaara frowned, trying to find away around the attack.

"Come quietly and my partner will call of the attacks!" Gaara was silent as his sand rushed forward towards Kyo. He batted away the sand as if it was nothing.

* * *

Tsunade sighed and turned to Tenshi, Yoko laid before her in her bed, sweating and mumbling incoherent words. 

"I've done all I can. This appears to be out of my expertise." Tenshi nodded with a heavy sigh.

"I was afraid of that." Tsunade was quiet for a minute before asking Tenshi the question on her mind from the moment she was called to the Uzumaki Estate.

"What happened?" Tenshi changed the wash cloth on Yoko's forehead before answering.

"I don't really know. All I can figure out is that she had a terrible vision."

"Did she say anything about it?"

"More like she screamed it." Tenshi sighed and sat beside her cousin, watching her carefully as Yoko struggled. "She screamed about fire from hell and beasts eating kids. And the dawning of hell. She repeated that several times."

". . . . anything else?" Tenshi shook her head.

"No. just screamed for a few more minutes before passing out." Tenshi brushed some hair out of Yoko's face. "Poor thing. She's been so worried about Robin that she never even bother to stop seeking visions. Now that she finally had one . . ." Tenshi sighed again and leaned back. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade shook her head.

"No, I didn't do much. I can't do much."

"Still . . . thank you."

* * *

Sand sped toward Kyo again. Gaara was sweeting from the amount of sand he had lost after Kyo destroyed it. But finally Gaara had found a weakness. The sand split into several different streams and hit him from different directions. Gaara watched as it exploded around him and caused Kyo to fly back, burns covering his body. 

"But you aren't protected from the explosions." Gaara mutter as Kyo forced himself up, coughing up blood. He wiped away the body and spat out more blood.

"Damn brat! Guess I'll have to get serious!" Kyo looked up confused as the second figure stepped in front of the two. After a moment he smirked. "So you want to fight the raccoon." Sand rushed forward, devouring the second Akatsuki ninja. However, Gaara watched as the cloak and hat was crushed and nothing more. He jumped back when he saw a shadow coming down from the air toward him. A large cloud of dust rose from the impact of the punch aimed for Gaara's head.

"This has gone on long enough." Gaara raised his hand but stopped, his eyes wide in horror and shock as the dust cleared. His heart nearly stopped from the sight. He felt blood roar in his ears and his heart pounded. His whole world seemed to stop for that moment and that moment alone. Black boots reached half way up to the knee. Black shorts and a black tank top covered by a sleeveless long red coat. A single blonde braid reached to mid thigh. Black ninja gloves snug on the hands. A leather black hat pulled down to cover one eye. The visible green eyes had black around it, similar to Gaara. An upper lip painted black against alabaster skin. On the upper right arm was a leaf forehead protector with a single slash through it.

"Been a long time, Gaara-_kun_."

"Robin."

* * *

Please review. It helps me improve the story. 


	5. If I Go Crazy

If I Go Crazy

"This has gone on long enough." Gaara raised his hand but stopped, his eyes wide in horror and shock as the dust cleared. His heart nearly stopped from the sight. He felt blood roar in his ears and his heart pounded. His whole world seemed to stop for that moment and that moment alone. Black boots reached half way up to the knee. Black shorts and a black tank top covered by a sleeveless long red coat. A single blonde braid reached to mid thigh. Black ninja gloves snug on the hands. A leather black hat pulled down to cover one eye. The visible green eyes had black around it, similar to Gaara. An upper lip painted black against alabaster skin. On the upper right arm was a leaf forehead protector with a single slash through it.

"Been a long time, Gaara-_kun_."

"Robin." Gaara gasped, shock written across his face. Robin stood up straight and let her hands fly through a series of seals, summoning her naginata. With ease she twirled the weapon above her head before swing at him, causing Gaara to jump away. "Robin . . . please tell me what is going on." Robin bent down and kicked her leg out, intending upon sweeping Gaara's feet out from under him. Gaara did a back flip and avoided her kick only to dodge another punch aimed for his head.

"This is a fight! Do not hold back!" Robin used her naginata to take another swing at him. Gaara jumped away from her, but in the process a few strands of his hair was cut off. Gaara watched in horror as Robin launched herself at him again. He narrowed his eyes in confusion and jumped up to met her in the air. Instead of using her naginata she kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back onto the ground. Gaara rolled out of the way in time as Robin slammed her naginata into the spot his head once occupied, burring it halfway up the blade.

"Hey brat! We take him alive. The demon is of no use to us if he's dead." Kyo's shout was answered by Robin looking at him over her shoulder with her uncovered eye.

"You are not up to this. Stay out of it." She looked back and saw Gaara standing. Robin used the naginata as support to hold herself up while she kicked him in the chest. Gaara was sent rolling back as Robin landed with a light thump. She yanked the naginata out of the ground and glared at Gaara as he forced himself up, coughing out blood.

"Robin . . . why?" Robin walked towards him slowly and then kicked his head, sending him backwards, causing him to land on his back. She twirled her naginata expertly before pointing it at him.

"You have lost." Sand shot forward at her, making the young woman jump back and spin the naginata to block the sand. Gaara stood up with a fierce glare in his eyes.

"I will not let anything happen to the Hidden Sand!" Her eyes narrowed before she let her hands fly through familiar seals. Lightening showered down upon the village.

"For a Kage . . . you're pretty weak." She turned around and spun the naginata again, blocking the sand that was coming up from behind her.

". . . you traitor!" Gaara snapped, rage filling his eyes. Robin smirked as she ignored his remark. It didn't matter to her anymore. Not after all she had been through.

"Gaara-kun . . . you forget . . . I know all you weaknesses." She dashed forward and jumped into the air, spinning around and giving him a kick to the head. "You sand doesn't defend you anymore if there isn't malice behind the attack. And I am the Emotionless Executioner. I feel no malice in my attacks. Making me a perfect opponent for you." Robin pulled a kunai out of her coat and threw it towards him, grazing his cheek as he dodged.

"I loved you once, so I will give you one last chance to stop." Robin stared at him with unwavering eyes.

"No, you didn't. Otherwise . . . . ." She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She almost said 'You would have stayed with me. You wouldn't have abandoned me like everyone else.' But she stopped herself from saying it. He had no need to know her reasoning. It wasn't her job to care for him. He moved on. So had she. "But that's beside the point. Me stopping? That won't happen." She ducked under the stream of sand sent towards her head and charged forward. Gaara blocked her punch and sent a punch of his own towards her head. Robin caught his fist and pulled him forward, kneeing him in the stomach. "Give up." She punched him in the face, letting him stumble back and fall down. Gaara struggle to stand up. "I excel at hand to hand fighting. Your taijutsu lacks the ability to stand up against mine." She disappeared in a blur and reappeared behind him, kicking him from behind. He was thrown forward and laid on the ground. "You allow your emotions to cloud your mind. Love? It does not exist. You are weak to think it does." She raised up her hand to land a finishing blow but at the last moment jumped high up into the air to avoid an attack from a puppet. Robin landed and stared at Kankuro and Temari as they rushed to Gaara's side.

"Robin! What's happening!" Temari asked, surprised. Robin merely stared at her before looking to Gaara who was collecting sand all around him.

"So . . . you would transform near the village?" Gaara glared at his former love, hatred burning in his eyes.

"I will protect this village!"

"And betray those you love, putting the village first." She mumbled to herself, too low for him to hear.

"Robin." Kyo muttered, throwing Robin her cloak which she caught with ease. "We were to capture him before he began to transform. He's already started to so we leave." She put on her cloak and turned to leave. Robin paused, looking over her shoulder at Gaara as he coughed out blood.

"Gaara . . . love does not exist for anything like us." Gaara felt his world stop at her words. "We are murders without souls. Who could love such hideous creatures like us?" She watched him with unchanging eyes. "We found comfort with each other merely because we did not fear each other. We could not. Because we are too alike." She cut her thumb on her naginata and then used the blood to summon a dragon. She stepped onto it while Kyo disappeared with a small explosion. "I have excepted that we are not meant for love. This village, your siblings . . . they hate and fear you." The dragon flapped its wings, lifting her up into the sky. "Gaara, use the very thing that cursed you to curse them. Hate the world. Rely on yourself alone. No one can love us. There will always be darkness in us, I have finally chosen to accept that fact." The dragon flew off with her words ringing in his ears.

* * *

Setsuko looked down at Naruto. He was looking up into the tree she was sitting in and waiting. For what she did not know. 

"Naruto-kun . . ."

"Setsuko . . . could Gaara have been wrong?" She closed her eyes as understanding washed over her. It had been three days since Gaara sent word to Konoha. Robin had joined the Akatsuki.

". . . ." She didn't know what to say to him. She didn't know what to do. It was too much for her.

"This is Robin . . . she wouldn't . . ." Setsuko bit her lip in through before she responded.

"Robin has decided to walk a path different from our own. She has joined Akatsuki. Now it is our job to stop her." Naruto looked down at the ground as he sat down with his back to the tree.

"But she's Robin." Setsuko felt those words stab at her heart. She understood what he meant. She was Uzumaki Robin. She had been there all along, fighting for Konoha. It didn't make sense. Finally, she told Naruto the only thing she could.

"I know. Which is why we have to stop her. To try and save what's left of her soul."

* * *

"Janghoon." Janghoon, her old student, looked up to see Setsuko land in front of him. He had been walking around, not really going anywhere. It was a surprise to see his old sensei. After all, they both were busy with their duties. Not only that, but with the Uzumaki family problems, Setsuko had almost no spare time. 

"Setsuko-san?" Setsuko smiled softly. He had traveled the world with her, causing the two to become close. He was a good friend to her. Yet he was still respectful towards her.

"Go get your sister. We should visit the fourth member of team 28." Janghoon nodded. His sister and he now lived together but rarely saw each other. Both were happy to get away from their cold parents. The same parents and had disapproved of their career and scorned them.

* * *

Robin brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She sat on a simple bed, her hair let loose and her long coat thrown over a chair with her black hat. She had kicked off her boots once she entered the room. It was bare and plain, seeing as she didn't ask for much. Robin stood up and made her way to the small window. Sliding it own, she stepped through it onto a balcony. 

"You've gotten good." She looked over to see Itachi as he complimented her. She looked away in annoyance.

"I've been training nonstop. I should hope I've gotten good." Itachi smirked and pulled Robin back into a tight embrace. He tilted her head up and kissed her gently. After a minute he pulled away. Robin leaned against him.

"I heard what you said."

". . . . when I fought Gaara?"

"Hai."

"Kyo has a big mouth." Robin sneered at the thought of her partner. "Why can't you be my partner?" She pouted slightly, looking up at him. Itachi gave her a pointed look.

"I already have one." Robin sighed and nodded.

"Fine." Silence hung over the two as Itachi held Robin close. She began to lose herself in through, nearly dozing off in his arms before his voice brought her back to reality.

". . . . you weren't suppose to try and kill him." She felt her temper rise at the mention of Gaara.

"It was a fight." She bit out, anger laced into her words. Itachi's eyes narrowed in annoyance at her excuse.

"That is a poor excuse." She glared into space, anger flaring.

"Beating Gaara is difficult. In order to do that I must not hold back." Robin hissed, her emotions getting the better of her as she argued. She didn't want to admit that Gaara had caused her so much pain. She supposed that revenge got the best of her. She could never forgive him. Not after the loneliness he instilled in her. She could not admit that he had caused her to have a weakness. Her pride would not allow her. Not only that, but the sheer amount of pain he had caused her when he left . . . . when another person she cared for left her behind . . . . it was too much.

"Still, we need him alive. If he dies, the demon dies. It is the same as your cousin." Robin broke out of Itachi's embrace and stared at him with calm eyes.

"I know that. I did not try to murder him, merely render him helpless, which I almost did." She sighed. "If it weren't for his siblings I would have captured him." Itachi sighed in annoyance.

"Robin, you would have easily been able to defeat them."

"They gave him enough time to gather sand!" She snapped, having her anger flood her system. "I would have continued to fight but Kyo said no! He is the senior Akatsuki member so the mission was under his command. I did as ordered!" Itachi closed his eyes for a moment before opening them, glaring at her.

"Calm yourself. You will get another chance to fight Gaara. In two weeks we will attack again."

"Two weeks?" Robin roared, angry with Itachi. "Why two weeks!"

"Because that is when the stars will be in our favor."

* * *

Please review. I need to know any problems there are with my story. 


	6. Alive and Well

Alive and Well

Robin slowly exhaled as she pushed her hand forward. She pivoted slowly with ease as she pushed down with one hand and pulled back with the other. Robin slowly twisted her arm back and lifted her other hand up slowly. She breathed evenly before turning around again. Slowly she pushed out with both hands. After a moment of her slow movements she turend to a door on her right. The door swung open, revealing Kyo.

"Hey brat, we've got a mission." She watched him with unchanging eyes, however annoyance lurked beneath the surface.

"What is it?" Kyo smirked.

"We have to get rid of the cousin of yous." Robin stared at him, emotionless.

". . . I have several cousins." Kyo nodded with a grin.

"But you get assassinate Hatake Setsuko."

* * *

Setsuko quietly drank her glass of water before looking over at Kakashi as he ate his cereal soundlessly.

"Kakashi?"

"Hmm?" Kakashi didn't look up from his cereal as he ate.

". . . . the winds are harsh today." This caught his attention, causing him to look at at Setsuko. He swallowed his cereal and drank some orange juice before responding.

". . . you haven't been outside yet." Setsuko looked down into her water and watched her reflection.

"I am the Uindo Bensha, remember?"

". . . . what has the wind done?"

"It brings warnings Kakashi." Kakashi was silent, taking in this information. His wife held a tremendous power with the wind. Never before had he heard her speak of warnings from the wind. That piece of information set off several alarms in his head. Truthfully, the wind was not always kind to Setsuko because she would not bow to it like all the Uindo Bensha before her, a fact that made him proud. While she still had her weaknesses, he was hard pressed to beat her. She was one of the more feared leaf-nin. Fear from her power and her bloodied past. But that wasn't important. What was important was that he didn't know what to do. If the wind warned her, it meant a great deal of danger. And Kakashi didn't know if he could bear the thought of losing her.

* * *

Tenshi changed the washcloth of Yoko's forehead. The meiko still slept, muttering incoherent things as she ran a high fever. Tsunade came by several times and still she could do nothing. Tenshi had requested a leave from the interrogation squad until Yoko woke up. If they truly need a genjutsu specialist then Tenshi would go in, but that was rare and far in between.

"Oh Yoko-chan . . . please wake up." She sighed as she stood. A sound caught her attention and turned to see their blind 13 year old cousin, Akira, standing in the doorway. "Akira-kun . . ."

"Yoko . . . . she's not better?"

"No, she's not." Akira nodded as he made his way over to Tenshi and sat beside Yoko's bed.

". . . . this troubles you? Yoko has fainted from visions before."

"When she first had one, yes!" Tenshi snapped. "But now is different!" Akira was quiet for a moment before speaking again.

"Because Robin is not here with you, tocare for her. Because Robin betrayed the leaf." Tenshi said and quietly answered.

"Yes. I wish Robin was here. Then I could not be so worried."

". . . . go visit Setsuko-chan. I sure she and Kakashi would not mind a visit." Tenshi stood and sighed once more.

". . . just make sure she's alright."

"I would do nothing less."

* * *

"I heard you were going to kill your cousin, Hatake Setsuko." Robin glanced at Itachi as she pulled her cloak on. He watched her carefully as she turned to face him. No emotion played in her eyes or face. She had already started the mission mentally, now all she had to do was get there. 

"You heard correct." She turned from him but glanced over her shoulder. "Itachi . . . drop the Kage Bunshin." Itachi disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She glanced over to the shadows and watched him step out.

"You've gotten better. How did you know?" Robin glanced at him before tugging on her ninja gloves. She took her forehead protector and glanced at the scratch through the leaf before tying it onto her upper arm under the cloak.

"I've spent enough time with you that I can tell shadow from flesh and blood." She turned back to him as she put on her Akatsuki hat. "Setsuko will kill Kyo." She smirked. "But Akatsuki already knew that. He's not up to it anymore. Gaara beat him with ease." She brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "I was his replacement, wasn't I?" Itachi watched her with calm and calculating eyes.

"You seem to understand how others think. In battle and out of battle."

"People broadcast their moves a lot. I've been fighting since before I could speak. Not only that but I am Uzumaki. That only leaves me with great expectations."

". . ." Robin turned away but glanced over her shoulder at him.

". . . don't worry, I will not fail."

"Robin . . . should Kyo fall before you kill Setsuko and there are other leaf-nin around . . . you mission will be aborted."

". . . hai."

* * *

Gaara looked down at the information in front of him. He felt his heart slowly breaking as his mind drifted back to her words. 

_**Flashback**_

"_Gaara . . . love does not exist for anything like us." Gaara felt his world stop at her words. "We are murders without souls. Who could love such hideous creatures like us?" She watched him with unchanging eyes. "We found comfort with each other merely because we did not fear each other. We could not. Because we are too alike." She cut her thumb on her naginata and then used the blood to summon a dragon. She stepped onto it while Kyo disappeared with a small explosion. "I have accepted that we are not meant for love. This village, your siblings . . . they hate and fear you." The dragon flapped its wings, lifting her up into the sky. "Gaara, use the very thing that cursed you to curse them. Hate the world. Rely on yourself alone. No one can love us. There will always be darkness in us, I have finally chosen to accept that fact." _

_**End Flashback **_

Gaara clenched his hand over his heart and fought back tears. He felt his heart being broken slowly, as if to torture him.

"Gaara . . ." Gaara looked up to see Temari. "She was just trying to-"

"I know. She was using my feelings against me." Temari reached out as if to comfort him but his words stopped her. "Please don't. Right now . . . . Robin is after the village. I can no longer show anything close to a weakness." Gaara sighed as he tried to close off his heart. "Robin . . . she was the only that was never afraid of me. And now I will miss the look in her eyes."

"What do you mean?" Gaara stood and stared into his sister's eyes, inspiring fear in her.

". . . I plan to kill Uzumaki Robin."

"K-kill her?" Temari stammered, surprised by her brother's words.

"Robin has attacked our village, become a missing-nin, joined Akatsuki, and . . ."

"And?"

". . . . and I love her too much to let anyone else kill her."

* * *

Please review. I need to know if I'm doing something bad or if you like it or what. Well, Ja ne!  



	7. Will You Be There?

Will You be There?

"Gaara-sama," Gaara looked up to see a jounin enter his office.

"What is it?"

"We have heard rumors of Akatsuki members heading to Konoha. A young woman and an older man." A the word 'Akatsuki' Gaara became alert.

"The woman?" The Kazekage demanded, striking fear into his subordinate.

"Bags under her eyes, just like Uzumaki Robin." Gaara stood, determination written across his face.

"When should they reach Konoha!"

". . . in a day and a half." Gaara glared into space as he remembered his last encounter with Robin.

_**Flashback**_

"_You have lost." Sand shot forward at her, making the young woman jump back and spin the naginata to block the sand. Gaara stood up with a fierce glare in his eyes._

"_I will not let anything happen to the Hidden Sand!" Her eyes narrowed before she let her hands fly through familiar seals. Lightening showered down upon the village._

"_For a Kage . . . you're pretty weak." She turned around and spun the naginata again, blocking the sand that was coming up from behind her._

"_. . . you traitor!" Gaara snapped, rage filling his eyes._

_**End Flashback**_

"Then I can intercept them as they leave."

* * *

Robin walked in a steady pace through the gates of Konoha. The guards laid unconscious, burns covering their bodies. Kyo threw a smirk over his shoulder at the near dead chuunins. After a moment he turned and scowled at Robin.

"Yo brat, you could have let me killed 'em." He hissed, annoyed. Robin glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Several minutes of silence passed and she still had not answered. "Listen, if you don't have it in you to kill Leaf ninjas then quit right now because we don't have room for brats." Robin stopped and turned to him. Her eyes portrayed no emotion what so ever.

"I knocked them unconscious because a murdered ninja in a ninja village is a dangerous thing. An assassination is measurable not by the death count but by the death of one person. It is useless to bother with others. Why waste chakra on them?" Robin continued to walk, heading in the direction of the forest.

"Where are we going?" Kyo demanded. When Robin did not respond, Kyo raised an eyebrow as Robin ducked under a tree branch but said nothing more.

* * *

Setsuko sat and meditated on top of a log. She had been like this for three hours. Setsuko reached out with her mind, calling to the wind. It was something Kakashi was used to after several months of marriage. So it did not surprise him when she did not react while Kakashi appeared and said nothing when he called her name. Nor when he patiently waited for ten minutes, hoping she would come out of her meditation, did she awaken from this state.

"Setsuko." Kakashi sighed, annoyed at her meditative state. While he had become used to them, it still annoyed him. He wanted to spend time with his wife but she had to mediate. He understood that it was like training for her. Her wind powers had a long ways to go before she could completely master then, and mediation helped her. Suddenly her eyes snapped open as Kakashi spun around while she jumped up into the air and flipped to land on her feet. Two kunai embedded themselves into the log she had been sitting on.

"Robin." Setsuko hissed, anger flashing in her eyes. Robin tossed her Akatsuki hat to the side and pulled her black leather hat from the cloak she wore. With a smirk Robin pulled it down over her right eye in the familiar fashion Setsuko was used to seeing. Robin slipped out of her cloak and glanced at Kyo who removed his hat and cloak.

"Hatake Setsuko, former vessel of the demon Aka Yuki, former head of the Uzumaki, former Demon God, carrier of a hybrid soul, and Uindo Bensha." Robin tilted her head to the side with a wicked smirk. "That's a lot of things you gave up." Kyo laughed as he stepped forward.

"Hey brat, I'll take this lazy weakling Setsuko calls a husband and you take your cousin." Kakashi watched Kyo carefully, a smirk playing at the Copy Cat's lips.

"Oi, I may be bored a lot of the time, but I'm not a weakling." Kyo grunted with a sadistic smile and charged forward. Kakashi moved his hand through a series of seals and sent a pillar of water form nearby pond at Kyo. Meanwhile, Robin and Setsuko stood, staring each other down.

"Robin-kun . . . this will be the last time I will give you a chance to come back." Robin smiled slightly at Setsuko's words.

"Setsuko, you are naive for a mass murderer." Robin let her hands move through several hand seals as Setsuko did the same. Black fire surrounded Setsuko's hands and electricity crackled around Robin's. Robin shoved her hands forward, sending a stream of electricity at Setsuko while the older woman sent black fire towards her younger cousin. The two powers collided and fought for control. Both ninjas sent more chakra into their attacks, causing the jutsus to intensify. After a moment the two jumped further away from each other and both glared.

"Traitor."

"That seems to be the only insult people use now." Setsuko raced forward, forcing Robin to match her speed as she backed away. "I'm not stupid enough to fight hand to hand with you Setsuko. I know that you can cut off my blood flow with a tiny little tap." Robin snapped. Setsuko smirked at her younger cousin.

"So that takes out hand to hand. Too bad its one of the things you're best at." Robin and Setsuko both began to perform a jutsu, finally calling it out. Once more the lightening and fire clashed, fighting for control.

"That might have been true a few months ago, but now it is much different." Robin disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Kage bunshin!" Setsuko jumped up into the air, avoiding another kunai. She sent a blast of fire towards a tree.

"Suiton Suijinheki no Jutsu!" Water appeared and collided with the fire, canceling it. Setsuko glared at her before she heard the next attack. "Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" The puddles from the Suiton Suijinheki rose up and formed a dragon. The dragon flew towards Setsuko, making the woman take the blunt of the attack. "You're weak, Setsuko." Setsuko coughed as she stood up and glared at her cousin.

"I don't want to hurt you Robin."

"Funny, I want to hurt you!" The ground shook as hundreds of different weapons emerged from the ground, each one connected to the ground by a chain. The dark sea of weapons rose up into the air and came towards Setsuko. Setsuko saw something dripping off of all the weapons.

"Poison!" The poisoned weapons shot pass Setsuko, intent on another target. Setsuko moved quickly, realizing who they were after. Kakashi pulled his blooded hand from Kyo's body. The sound of a thousand birds died down as the chakra surrounding his hand faded. He turned just as Setsuko shoved him onto the ground, taking the hit from the poisoned weapons. Blood trickled out the side of her mouth as she fell to her knees. Kakashi quickly stopped her from falling and looked back at the weapons. Three weapons managed to hit her in the back, a dagger, an ax, and a short scythe. Kakashi glared at Robin as she landed on the ground with a light thud.

"Predictable. Her love for you makes her easy to target. At the slightest threat towards you she drops everything and takes the blow." Robin smirked. "Love is a weakling's idea. If she was truly strong, she would never have been so easily beaten nor could I predict her choice." Robin took a step forward before jumping up into the air and landing on a tree branch. She glared at the ground as sand slowly shifted around in the dirt. Robin turned her eyes to see Gaara, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. Robin watched as the sand returned to Gaara. With ease she jumped from the tree and landed next to her cloak and hat.

"Funny, I recall you taking the blow not to long ago." Gaara hissed while Robin stared at the six new comers. After a moment she clutched her cloak and hat while sinking into the ground.

"STOP HER!" Tsunade yelled as the others raced forward. Not even the sand reached her before disappeared into the ground.

* * *

Kakashi stood next to his wife's bed, watching her closely.

"Don't worry Kakashi." Tsunade placed a tired hand on his shoulder, causing him to look back at the Hokage. "I've removed almost all of the poison."

"Then why does she have a fever? Why isn't she awake?" He whispered, almost desperate sounding. Tsunade sighed, sorrow etched into her features.

"Kakashi . . . due to her fast healing the poison spread through her fast enough to due damage." Kakashi shook his head in confusion.

"Then why didn't she remove the poison herself?" He demanded. "She's removed poison before, why not now?" Tsunade bit her lip, trying to find the words to tell him the news.

"There's more, Kakashi. Probably the reason she was so reluctant to use any of her Ninjou Shuujuku skills." Tsunade took Kakashi's hand and led him closer to Setsuko's prone body, putting his hand over her stomach. "Not even Setsuko knew how this would effect her body at the moment so I don't think she wanted to take that risk."

"What risk?" Kakashi asked quietly.

"Setsuko is pregnant."


	8. Holding My Hand

Holding My Hand

Robin slid to a halt and glared ahead of her. Gaara and four sand-nin stood in front of her, blocking her path.

"Move aside weakling." Robin hissed, dropping into a stance.

"I will kill you." Robin smirked at Gaara's simple statement.

"Normally I would comment, but I have to go." Gaara narrowed his eyes.

"What makes you think I'll let you go."

"Robin-kun is needed elsewhere." Gaara spun around and faced the owner of the voice, Uchiha Itachi. Two red eyes narrowed as they looked down on Gaara. "Do not worry, she will see you soon."

* * *

"Pregnant!" Tsunade nodded at Kakashi's outburst. 

"Hai. She came in and checked yesterday." Kakashi was silent for a moment, stunned by this information. His wife was pregnant. Setsuko would be a mother. He would be a father. They would have a baby. But his thoughts came crashing to a stop when he remembered why he was even in the hospital.

"Is the baby alright?" He whispered nervously. Tsunade sighed heavily and looked down at Setsuko.

"We have to run some more tests to confirm that. At the last minute Setsuko took the risk and stopped the poison from reaching the child. I don't know why she didn't remove the poison, you'll have to ask her when she wakes up." Tsunade smiled gently at the prone figure before them. "It shouldn't be too long before that happens."

* * *

"Itachi-kun, do we take the weakling?" Robin asked quietly only to receive a soft no from the elder Uchiha. Robin bowed her head slightly, understanding as she remember that it was not her mission at the moment. 

"Where is the man you were with before?" Robin turned to look at Gaara as he demanded answers. A smirk played on her lips as she watched Gaara's reactions.

"Kyo was not up to the fight. His corpse will rot like the foolish weakling he was." Robin sank into the ground once more, disappearing from sight. Itachi soon followed, but not until he gave Gaara a warning.

"Robin-kun is mine now. Do not think otherwise."

* * *

Itachi barely had time to block her fist as it flew towards his face. 

"I belong to no one!" There was a dangerous glint in her eyes as she stared down Uchiha Itachi. "Do not presume to think you have the right to own me." She hissed, turning away from him. "If you know anything about me, then you must know that I will never bow down to anything."

"Why are you so objective towards what I said?" Robin spun around, anger rising as she held herself back from flying head first into a fight.

"I am no object. You cannot presume to claim me for your own."

"Why do you resist so?"

"I am Uzumaki. No Uzumaki, even the weakest, will ever bow down to another."

"What of the Main Family and the Branch Family? The Branch bowed down to the Main Family, did it not?" Robin narrowed her eyes as uncontrollable rage began to surface. She clenched her hand into a fist, trying to resist the urge to attack.

"The Uzumaki is not the Hyuuga or the Uchiha." Robin bit out, seething as she began to explain the Uzumaki traditions to the Uchiha. "The Branch did not bow down to the Main Family. The Main were those able to use their blood limit better than those in the Branch." She snapped as him before leaving the room. However, Itachi followed her.

"Unlimited adaptability . . ." Robin slowed to a halt and looked at him over her shoulder with narrowed eyes.

"What of my blood limit?" Itachi smirked.

"I've seen you fight. You rarely use your blood limit."

"What of it?"

". . . I just find it odd." Robin shook her head in annoyance.

"I use it when I need to. It is . . . . a trump card. I prefer to hone my skills with it and save it for when it is needed."

* * *

Kakashi sighed and looked at his wife again. He didn't know how long it had been since Tsunade told him that Setsuko was pregnant. He had simply lost track of time, letting him mind wander. He was about to drift off in thought again when a movement caught his eye. Setsuko was slowly opening her eyes. Kakashi reached out and grabbed his wife's hand, causing her to look at him. 

". . . Kakashi . . ." Her voice was raw as she whispered his name.

"Setsuko . . . . why didn't you tell me about the baby?" Her eyes widened and she quickly placed a hand over her stomach.

"The baby!" She gasped, looking down at her stomach. She turned her eyes to Kakashi. "Is the baby alright?"

". . . . they don't know yet. Tsunade-sama is finishing up with some tests and then she will tell us." Setsuko nodded slowly, trying to to panic as they waited for Tsunade. After a few minutes of worried silence a knock brought their attention to the door. Tsunade entered with a file in her hand.

"Tsunade!" Setsuko stared at the folder. "How's the baby!" Kakashi stood, worry etched into his face.

"Tsunade-sama . . ." Tsunade sighed as she closed the door behind her.

"Kakashi . . . Setsuko . . ."

* * *

Please review. It helps me in case I need to fix something. Thank you.  



	9. Untamed Emotions

Untamed Emotions

Robin rubbed her arm, looking at Itachi. He sat in a chair in front of a huge table, covered with scrolls. Robin was leaning against a cold stone wall.

". . . . who will be my new partner?" Itachi did not bother looking up from the scroll her was reading to answer her.

"It has been decided that you need an experienced and powerful partner to push you beyond your limits. I have been chosen."

"What of Kisame?"

". . . . he and his sword are needed elsewhere." Robin pushed herself off of the wall and moved over to Itachi, peering over his shoulder. "Yes?" Robin wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face his back.

". . . . how long . . . . ."

"How long till what?"

". . . . till I have my revenge? Till I cause him so much pain?" Itachi was silent, staring down at the scrolls. He reached up and grabbed Robin's arm. With ease he pulled her in front of him and made her sit on his lap.

"Why do you care so much about your revenge?"

"He made me weak. I cannot accept that." Itachi was silent for a moment, contemplating what she said before he spoke and pulled forward a large scroll and pointed to it.

"This scroll tells us when his seal will be its weakest. That date here . . ." He pointed to freshly written numbers. " . . . is when the seal will be at its weakest. Three days before that, we need to retrieve Gaara." Robin smiled wickedly.

"That's in five days. It will take only two days to reach him if we start out tomorrow."

"Exactly. So I suggest you rest and prepare." Robin nodded and left the room, clenching her fist with a cruel smirk. She raised her fist up and looked at it with a dangerous look in her eyes.

"In three days I will finally destroy the Hidden Sand, Gaara-kun."

* * *

"Kakashi . . . Setsuko . . ." Tsunade sighed wearily. "I'm sorry." 

". . . . I lost the baby?" Kakashi held his wife's hand as she stared down at her stomach while holding it with one hand.

". . . . Hai."

". . . . are you sure?" Setsuko asked tentatively.

"Hai." Setsuko was silent for a moment, thinking over the information she just received before speaking again. "Setsuko . . . you'll be given time off for this."

"Iie. Tsunade-sama . . . . I wish to be put on active duty once I leave here. I also wish to be given the chance to find Uzumaki Robin." Tsunade sighed and was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words to say to Setsuko.

". . . . Setsuko . . . . I know that you got attached the baby quickly. You need a rest. Your request has been denied. However, if we find out where the organization Akatsuki is located then I will move you back into active duty. But until that time, you will be on leave." Kakashi held his wife's hand and looked at the Hokage.

"When can she leave?"

"Once her fever goes down she can leave." Setsuko nodded. Tsunade left, giving to the two privacy. Kakashi kissed Setsuko on the cheek and brushed some hair away from her face.

"Setsuko, get some rest. I'll be here." Setsuko nodded and leaned back into her pillow, falling into a deep sleep, refusing to let tears fall.

* * *

Setsuko sighed heavily as she kicked a log, breaking it. 

"Setsuko." She turned to see Kakashi. "You shouldn't be training." She turned back to the broken log and stared at it before moving over to a tree. She slammed her fist into it, shattering the bark. Blood trickled down her hand as she pulled it out from the tree. She watched as the blood splatter onto the ground. She felt herself being pulled back into a tight embrace. Kakashi held her as she reached up and held his arm.

". . . . it hurts . . . ."

"I know."

"Make the pain go away." She turned and faced him. He held her tightly in the hug, burying his face into her hair.

"Setsuko . . . . ."

"Please . . . . it hurts so much . . . . . ."

". . . . . don't do this to yourself Setsuko. I can't watch you like this." Setsuko closed her eyes and fought back tears. She had given enough tears to the dead. She would not do it any more. She just let herself sink into Kakashi's embrace as sleep began to overtake her. Her mind was too worn out from the trauma of fighting her cousin and losing the baby that was one of the few positive things she had done with her life.

* * *

Robin landed without making a sound and looked over at Itachi as he jumped down from a rock. A desert stretched as far as the eye could see. Robin shifted under her black cloak as she stared at the other Akatsuki member. 

"It's been two days. I say we fly now." Itachi was silent before giving a slight nod. Robin bit down on her thumb, drawing blood. Her hands went through a set of seals before she shoved her palms onto the sand. Smoke rose up, blocking her from view. After a minute the smoke cleared and Robin stood upon a large bird. Itachi stepped onto the bird and sat down as the bird flapped its large wings to help it lift up into the air. Itachi pulled Robin down beside him and pulled her close to him.

* * *

Gaara was silent as he stared out the window. He turned to leave but paused. A large bird was in he sky. Gaara narrowed his eyes. Before he could do anything balls of fire were hurled down at his village. He jumped out his window, landing quietly onto the ground and ran towards the bird as he began to gather sand.

* * *

"So who fights him?" Robin looked at Itachi as he used a katon jutsu to rain fire upon the village. 

"You." It was the only response she got. Robin nodded and peered down at the Hidden Sand.

"THERE!" She jumped off the bird the second she spotted Gaara. While falling to the ground she removed her cloak and hat, replacing the woven hat with her leather one. With ease she summoned her naginata to her and landed in a slight crouch. She shot off, twirling her naginata, towards Gaara. He barely had time to bring up his sand to defend himself against the blade of her weapon. Robin smirked at him before jumping away from him.

"Robin!" Gaara hissed, his anger boiling. Robin twirled her naginata once more before dropping down into a deep stance with her smirk remaining.

"Temper, temper, Gaara-kun. You shouldn't lose control." She dashed forward, kicking her leg out to sweep him off his feet. Gaara flipped back from her, only to jump to the side and duck under her naginata. He sent his sand barreling towards her but Robin jumped above the sand and brought her naginata down towards Gaara. The Kazekage jumped back, avoiding the deadly blow.

"Control yourself. We need him alive." Itachi muttered as he landed beside her. Robin narrowed her eyes, never taking them off Gaara.

"Just keep away reinforcements." She charged forward again, slamming her naginata into the ground and using it to lift herself up and plant her feet in his chest. Gaara was sent flying back, coughing up some blood. Robin wasted no time and yanking out her naginata and attacking him again. Gaara managed to land on his feet but this time she caused a thin trail of blood on his cheek as she made another swipe that he was barely able to dodge. Robin surprised Gaara when she appeared in front of him and used her elbow to strike him across the face, knocking him down. She used her naginata to cut in half the sand that had darted towards her. "Fight me Gaara. Stop holding back." Sand was pulled out from under her feet, causing her to stumble and a blast of sand hit her square in the chest, sending her flying back. She was up on her feet and wiped away a trickle of blood from her mouth. She barely had time to jump to the side to avoid a wave of sand. Robin felt her eyes widen when she felt the sand curl around her ankle and grab hold of her. The sand lifted her up in the air and slammed her down into the ground. Robin slashed through the sand before it had a chance to repeat its actions.

"Why?" Gaara demanded harshly as he spat out blood. Robin stared at him before closing her eyes.

"Because. . . " She opened her green eyes, sending him a sharp glare. ". . . you love the Hidden Sand more than you could ever love me." She appeared in front of him once more, kicking him, causing Gaara to fly back once more. Once more Gaara flipped in the air and managed to land on his feet. "I'm selfish Gaara. I could never have stopped you from leaving the Leaf for the Sand." Once more Gaara was surprised as she appeared in above of him, kicking him in the head. Gaara hit the side of a building from the force of her kick. "I gave you my heart and you stomped on it." Robin disappeared in a blur and reappeared in front of Gaara. She grabbed him by the hand the slung him around, throwing him into the side of the building once more, this time leaving cracks in the wall. Robin turned and slashed the sand aimed for her head in half. "Because I could never compete with the Hidden Sand. Even after all they did to you, you still loved them more than me." Robin narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "So I joined the Akatsuki to destroy the Hidden Sand, just like you destroyed me." Robin blocked a punch aimed for her head. She smirked as she blocked another punch. "Good. Defend this wasteland. Show me why I was left behind. Show me how much you hate me!" Robin flipped back, stopping Gaara from kicking her feet out from under her. She moved from side to side, dodgin his kicks and punches along with his sand. Robin brought her knee up, blocking a kick to her stomach. However, she wasn't prepared to stop the fist to her face, knocking her back a few steps and causing blood to trickle out of her nose.

"You betrayed the Leaf. You betrayed the Uzumaki clan. You've betrayed everything you believed. You betray me." Robin narrowed her eyes and blocked a punch, retaliating with one of her own. She hit Gaara square in the face, causing his sand armor to crack.

"Betrayal? I betrayed no one. They betrayed me. They all left me. Even you." She jumped away from Gaara and dodged a wave of sand. "I grew up to be the perfect weapon. I was raised to be an emotionless, killing machine. I am loyal to no one." Robin moved her hands through handseals and a dark ball appeared before her. She gripped it tightly and watched as a creature from the depths of her mind came formed and attacked Gaara. Gaara used his sand and easily smashed the creature. Robin smirked and spread her arms apart. "Gaara! Come, fight me as a demon! Give it your all and I won't crush the city." Soon strange markings were all over her body as Robin closed her eyes. Gaara rush forward, intent on stopping from finishing her jutsu. However, a wall of fire constructed itself around Robin. Itachi smirked as his fire protected Robin. "Spirit within me, I call to you! Your time to roam this world has come once again. You must fulfill your contract! Let my hate be yours, let me happiness be yours, let my life be yours. Let this body take on your great power. Fulfill your contract with Uzumaki Robin, Lamia Deus!" Smoke rose up from the ground as Robin began to hold her throat while she coughed. Out of the smoke burst a woman in her mid twenties. Her long bright red hair had stood up as it took the shape of wings. There was the strange eye design on her forehead and heart along with her palms and parts of her arms. Some other strange markings were on her skin in certain areas, such as her chest or on her neck leading up to some on her face. Her colorless skin made her black lips stand out, along with her black eyeshadow. Two new eyes stared out of her face. Thick rings of purple were around her bright yellow eyes. A thin circle of black was around each of her small pupils. She wore a dark green, almost black, corset that was over a off the shoulder long sleeve shirt that was see through. Her black pants clung to her body along with her black combat boots. Several golden belts were around her waist. The woman flew up into the air and smirked down at Gaara.

"Lamia Deus." He hissed, remembering all too well the vampire god's power.

"Gaara-kun," The new voice seemed sweet as she smirked at him. "_You_, of all people, should know that I have total control over this form now." Gaara gather sand around him, wasting no time in transforming himself. "Aww, what a cute badger!" Lamia Deus taunted him as she flapped her wings and flew high into the air. The 'badger' leapt high into the air landing far away form the village. Lamia Deus pouted slightly, seeing his plan to lead her away from the village.

"Follow him." She looked down at Itachi before taking off after Gaara. With ease she caught up with Gaara and smiled cruelly.

* * *

Please review! It helps me to fix any problems!  



	10. Bad Blood

Bad Blood

Lamia Deus smirked at a unconscious Gaara. Smoke blocked her from view before revealing Uzumaki Robin. She had bruises and cuts littering her body. With a cruel glint in her eyes she kicked Gaara over onto his back.

"Took you long enough." She muttered as she turned to Itachi.

"I could say the same for you." Robin smirked as she looked down at Gaara.

"I enjoyed playing with him." Robin bite down on her hand and summoned the large bird from before.

"ITACHI!" Robin and Itachi spun around in time to see Sasuke charging forward. Robin narrowed her eyes when she saw her younger cousin Naruto. Itachi moved to the side, dodging Sasuke's punch. Itachi dodged a few more of Sasuke's punches with ease and knocked Sasuke back with a single punch. Robin glanced at Hinata and Sakura. Hinata had dropped down into her family stance while Sakura had adopted a medical taijutsu stance. "Bastard!" Sasuke screamed as he charged his brother once more, sharigan blazing.

"Should we take Naruto now?"

"No." Itachi responded while dodging another punch. "Leave him for now. We won't need him until a few weeks." Robin summoned her naginata and twirled it in the air before dropping into her own stance.

"Do you want another one?"

"You're MY opponent!" Sasuke yelled, fury flooding his systems.

"You heard him." Itachi smirked as his younger brother jumped back, performing his best jutsu. The sound of birds filled the air and chakra crackled around Sasuke's hand. Robin rolled her eyes when she saw this. With a sigh she turned back to the other three. She barely had time to dodge Hinata's open palm. She jumped back, avoiding Naruto's rasengan. With ease she moved her head to the side and Sakura's fist missed her head.

"Three to one. Hardly honorable." Robin taunted as she did a back flip to avoid getting her feet swept out form under her by Hinata. She leapt back again, avoiding Sakura's kick. Robin narrowed her eyes as a golden flash blinded her. A fist connected with her cheek, sending her tumbling back. Robin rolled through the sand before she pushed off with a hand and flipped up into the air to land on her feet. "Naruto-kun," She spat out blood as she stood. A flash of light appeared once more but Robin held up her hand and blocked the kick aimed for her head. "That took me by surprise. It will not happen again." Flashes of light appeared, one right after the other. Robin dodged or blocked each blow. "I'm faster than you, little cousin. Even using your father's jutsu, I'm faster." Robin swung her leg around, making contact with Naruto's skull. Naruto was sent flying back and tumbled through the sand as he skidded to a stop. "You rely too much on that jutsu." Robin lunged forward and did a handspring, dodging Hinata's gentle fist. She brought her naginata up and blocked Sakura's kick. "This is getting to be sad."

"I agree." Sasuke was thrown back by Itachi's punch. "We don't have time for this." Robin grabbed Hinata's hand and held them apart.

"I helped train you, don't you think I know your weaknesses." She narrowed her eyes when she saw the blood on Hinata's hand. "You were going to summon?" Robin smirked. "Don't you think the dragons would listen to me more than they would you." She kneed Hinata in the stomach and shoved the girl away. Robin flipped up into the air, barely avoiding a punch from Sakura. Robin landed and kick Sakura's back, sending her tumbling through the sand.

"We need to get back." Robin nodded and stepped onto the bird with Itachi. The bird lifted itself into the air with a few beats of its wings and flew off. She glanced over to Itachi and he sighed and moved forward.

"What are you doing?"

"You've trained nonstop ever since you joined Akatsuki. You barely sleep. It is only because you are Uzumaki and have been using your bloodlimit constantly that you are not dead right now." Robin narrowed her eyes and looked ahead at the sky as she crossed her arms.

"How did you know?" Itachi pulled Robin back into his arms as they sat on the large bird.

"I know because I have been watching you. I know you. Sleep. You've got no energy left. You used up the last of it just now in the fight." Robin opened her mouth to protest but he shook his head. "Sleep." Sighing, Robin gave in and laid back into his arms, falling into a restful sleep.

* * *

Setsuko nearly knocked down the door as she barged into the Hokage's office. Tsunade looked up, surprised. She had been talking to Tenshi. There was another person in the room but Setsuko didn't see them due to the chair blocking her view.

"Setsuko-chan."

"The Akatsuki! Where!" She demanded, almost out of breath from the dead sprint she had made to the Hokage's office the second the wind brought word to her.

"Setsuko-sama . . . ." Tenshi stood from her seat. "Please do not do anything hasty." Setsuko sent Tenshi a sharp glare before resting her eyes on the other person in the room.

"Setsuko-sama . . ." Yoko stood up. She looked pale and tired but still held a regal air to her. "I do not think you should go to fight this battle." Setsuko's eyes narrowed as she stared at Yoko. Yoko sighed and brushed back some of her black hair. "I just woke up from the . . . vision . . . . I had." Setsuko turned back to Tsunade and marched up to the desk.

"Where is the Akatsuki!" She demanded once more, anger burning in her eyes. "I swore on my student's grave that I would avenge him! Tell me where they are!"

". . . . you will die." Yoko quietly whispered, catching Setsuko's attention.

". . . . what?" Yoko looked down in shame.

"I. . . . had a vision before your wedding. You died in it. I thought . . . . I thought that it wouldn't come true. But then . . . . with that last vision . . . . I know for sure that if you go you will die." Setsuko was still, trying to take in the information she was beinf told by her cousin.

"Setsuko-sama, I know this may be hard for you, but listen to Yoko."

"Who?" Tenshi blinked as Yoko looked away, sorrow etched on her face.

"Setsuko . . ." Setsuko cut off Tsunade.

"Who!" Yoko sighed and looked back at Setsuko. She bite down on her lip before giving in.

"I . . . . do not know her name . . . ."

"What did she look like!" Setsuko demanded. Yoko bite down on her lip once more.

"I couldn't get a clear image of her."

"Then how the hell can that be any use to me!" Yoko winced at her harsh words.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she finished healing Sasuke's rib. Itachi had broken it during their fight. Hinata looked down at her wrists, seeing the bruises from when Robin had grabbed her to stop her from summoning.

". . . . she was faster than me." Naruto sighed and shook his head as a sand medic checked him over before saying he was fine.

". . . . what could make Robin-kun be so harsh?" Hinata quietly asked her boyfriend.

"Itachi can, apparently." Sasuke sent a harsh look towards Naruto when the fox boy spoke. "What? Gaara said so himself when he came to intercept Robin. She and Itachi are . . . seeing each other." Sasuke sneered at the mention of his brother and looked away, anger clouding his mind once more. He gripped the exam table hard, leaving cracks in it. Sasuke shook with rage as the fight replayed in his mind.

"He was toying with me." Sasuke muttered to himself. Sakura slapped Sasuke across the face before Naruto could say anything. Hinata gasped slightly at Sakura's action towards her own boyfriend.

"You're damn right he was!" She snapped at the startled Sasuke. "You lost your head. You let your rage cloud your mind, losing any chance to beat Itachi!" She sighed, her anger melting away. "You would have been fine if you hadn't lost your head."

"She's right." Naruto muttered, causing Sasuke and Sakura to look back at him. "We have to fight them. Losing our heads isn't going to get us through this." Naruto sighed as his thoughts drifted back to his cousin. "Listen, Robin's my cousin. I . . . I have a hard time fighting her but I have to do it anyways. I can't let emotion cloud my mind and neither can you."

* * *

"Setsuko-sama . . . . from the vision I did get alittle information."

"What is it?" Yoko hesitated before replying.

". . . . this woman . . . . you thought she was dead . . . you thought you killed her." Setsuko closed her eyes in frustration.

"That doesn't help."

". . . . she wore your village's symbol . . . ." Setsuko felt her world stop. ". . . . she's been wearing it for years, seeking revenge."

"Setsuko . . . ?" Tsunade was hesitant as Setsuko felt her body go numb. Memories flooded her mind.

"Who is it, Setsuko-sama?" Tenshi asked quietly, reaching out to comfort her cousin.

". . . . her name is Tsuki Ai."


	11. Yoko's Decision

Yoko's Decision

Robin looked behind her to see another woman.

"Ai-san." The woman's silky dark black hair flowed out of the high pony tail it was in and her bangs tumbled over her right eye, reaching down to her chin as they narrowed. The lower part of her face was covered in a dark violet mask and a rose colored scarf that reached her knees after wrapping around her neck. Thick gold hoops swapped in her ears as she moved. Her light magenta tank top was tight and wrapped around her with its shoulder straps covered by thick metal that covered both shoulders completely. A long dark rose ribbon was wrapped in all directions around her stomach to her hips, showing her thin figure. A light violet skirt flared out from the ribbon and reached down close to her knees, leaving only her knees bear as her heavy boots were all the way up to her knees. She wore dark magenta colored arm guarders that cover her lower arms entirely, only allowing her fingers to be visible. On her side rest a strange weapon. It was like eight silver kunai were all sticking out of a silver ring, point in opposite directions. Each one had a mark engraved on it. Three thick lines, getting narrower as they went it. The two on the outside curved in from the side to reach the same point as the middle line that went straight down. Its long blades were each at least a foot long. The woman looked over Robin before replying.

"Robin-kun, you succeeded?" Robin nodded to the question.

"Hai. Itachi is putting Gaara in a holding cell right now." Ai was silent, watching Robin carefully. "Is there anything else, Ai-san?" Ai looked Robin in the eye as she asked her next question.

". . . . you had a relationship with this Gaara, did you not?" Robin nodded.

"Hai. We were boyfriend and girlfriend for a short time."

". . . . do those emotions still exist?"

"Gaara loves the Hidden Sand more than he could ever love me. I realized that and moved on. I realize now that love is a weakling's emotion." Ai smirked through her mask.

"Good. Love is a foolish emotion that has no room in the ninja world."

"I understand." Robin bowed her head. "Ninjas are tools. I made the mistake in believing I could be more than that."

"I'm glad you understand Robin." Ai placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. "You are the perfect weapon, Robin. You have no emotion when on a mission. You have no skills outside of fighting. And you are a genius when it comes to fighting." Robin had a distant look in her eyes as she answered Ai.

"It's what I was raised to do."

* * *

Sohn Janghoon stared at his former sensei, Setsuko.

". . . . but . . . her body . . . . she was dead . . . . ." His mind tried to take in the overwhelming news. The woman he had fall in love with was alive. The woman who had hunted Setsuko for most of her life was alive. "Why?" It was the only response he could manage. Setsuko sighed as she tried to find the words to explain.

". . . . . Janghoon . . . . you said once that she had committed her life to hunting me down and destroying me. I don't know why she let me think I killed her." Janghoon stood up as he shook his head.

"Setsuko . . . . . that's not what I meant. Why tell _me_?" Setsuko stared at him, trying to find an answer. None came to her.

"I . . . . I don't know." Janghoon smiled at his former sensei.

"Thank you for telling me."

". . . . I'm going to kill her."

"I know."

". . . . please do not hate me for it."

"I won't." Setsuko felt relieved but still guilty.

"She was your first love."

"I know."

"You hated me the first time."

"I was immature. I've grown beyond that. I still love her. But . . . . she's so bent on destroying you . . . . she could never love me back." Janghoon sighed as he sat back down. "I love Ai still. But she's so corrupted by hate . . . . just . . . . try to save her soul. That's all I ask for." Setsuko nodded as she stood, turning towards the door. "Come back safe." She paused upon hearing this.

"Aren't you going to come?"

"I honestly do not know." Setsuko paused and turned to look at Janghoon. Setsuko forced a smile.

"Goodbye, Janghoon."

* * *

Yoko slammed her fists down on the table. Tenshi looked at Yoko, startled. The young meiko rarely became this upset. 

"Dammit! Why does she not listen to me!" Yoko held her head in her hands as she tried to calm herself down. "She knows that she will die." Tenshi sighed and put her hand on Yoko's shoulder. She was unsure of how to comfort her older cousin. Yoko was always strong and never needed to be comforted. Often she was the backbone of the family, holding them together in a time of crisis.

"Yoko . . . ."

". . . . Tenshi . . . I have a favor to ask."

* * *

"Dammit, Setsuko! No!" Kakashi nearly screamed at his wife. She sat quietly at the dinner table. She had just told him of Yoko's vision.

"Kakashi . . . . Ai is my problem. I have to stop her. This time for good."

"Not at the cost of your own life!" Setsuko sighed and looked away. She felt Kakashi pull her into an embrace. "Setsuko . . . . so many times I thought I'd never see you again. Don't do this to me."

"I . . . ."

"I love you Setsuko. Please. This will destroy me." Setsuko turned to him and smiled weakly.

"I am the only one that can stop her." A knocking interrupted any further argument. Kakashi sighed as he answered the door in the next room.

"Tenshi? Yoko? What are you doing here?" The two bowed slightly.

"May we come in, Kakashi-kun?" Tenshi asked quietly but Setsuko heard it in the next room.

". . . hai." Tenshi and Yoko stepped in and Kakashi closed the door after them.

". . . . she told you." It was not a question, it was a statement. Yoko stared Kakashi directly in the eye as he nodded.

"Yoko . . . Tenshi . . . what are you doing here?" The question came from Setsuko as she stepped into the room. Yoko turned to Setsuko with a serious look on her face.

"Setsuko-sama . . . . to ensure the vision does not happen, I will go with you."


	12. Immortal Darkness

Immortal Darkness

Setsuko looked back at Yoko.

"Do you know where to go, Setsuko-sama?" Setsuko nodded.

"Hai. The wind told me." She bite down on her thumb, drawing blood. Quickly she summoned a large bird and stepped onto its back. She held out her hand to Yoko. "Come on. We don't have all day." Yoko nodded before taking Setsuko's hand and stepping onto the bird. With ease the bird flapped its large wings, lifted them up into the air.

* * *

Robin brushed her hair slowly, staring off into space. 

"Reports are coming in." She turned to see Itachi standing beside her window, watching the night sky. Robin was silent for a moment, pondering what he just said.

"What reports?" He looked at her. With a faint smirk he turned his eyes back to the sky. He was quiet, to annoy her she assumed.

"Reports on the puny villages." Robin turned back to her mirror and continued to brush her hair.

"I see."

". . . . Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata are coming from Sand along with Temari. Gaara's brother is staying behind to help run the city." Robin paused in brushing her hair. She turned to look at him once more. This time he had completely turned to look at her.

". . . . and the Leaf?"

". . . . Setsuko and Yoko are coming by air. Kakashi, Lee, Gai, Neji, and Jiraiya are coming by land." Robin put down her brush.

"So informal with their names." Robin threw a kunai at Itachi, giving him only enough time to barely dodge, leaving a small cut on his cheek. "You are getting soft."

* * *

Sakura glanced at her boyfriend as they ran through the sand. 

"Sasuke . . . ." He looked back at her. "What makes Naruto so sure that it's this way?" Before Sasuke could say anything Naruto cut in.

"Because . . . ." Naruto glanced back at the two with blood red cat eyes. ". . . . with the Kyuubi eyes comes some of its senses. I told you that awhile back."

"I still don't get how you're so sure."

"I can smell the blood in Gaara's sand."

* * *

Ai looked at the scroll with a wicked smirk through her mask. 

"So she's finally coming." Robin nodded as she knelled before Ai.

"Hai, Ai-san. Hatake Setsuko is coming to avenge her fallen student, Riki." Ai sat down in a stone chair and leaned back.

"Good. I will face her." Robin glanced up at Ai.

"Is there anything else you need, Ai-san."

"Go cheek on the prisoner. Other than that, leave me be. I have to . . . prepare Setsuko's past."

* * *

Robin looked down at Gaara as she stood before him in front of his cell. There were holy seals lining the doorway, stopping him from getting out. Robin narrowed her eyes in anger as she stared down at him. Her fist shook with rage as she looked away in disgust. 

"I will kill you." She looked back up at Gaara as he sat up, weak. He leaned against the a wall and glared at her. Robin smirked as she looked down at him.

"Big words from such a little man. I crushed you with ease."

"I will not fail."

"You have." Robin hissed. "I am alive and you will die shortly." A cruel smile worked its way onto her face. "Your very own demon will help us learn how to control other demons. Far more powerful demons."

"What!" Gaara asked in disbelief. Robin barked out a harsh laugh as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Fool! Did you really think that we would take you demon and do nothing with it?" She narrowed her eyes in arrogance. "Did you think we would stare at it all day long? Honestly, what did you think we would do with it? I want to know."

"I didn't think you would be insane enough to try and control a demon!" Gaara hissed out. Robin glared at him in disgust.

"Insane? Far from it." She rested her hands on her hips.

"I doubt that." Gaara snapped as Robin raised an eyebrow with a cold smile.

"Humans are the ones with power. It is the rightful place of the human kind to take control of those weaker than it. Once demons are tamed, then mankind will have nothing to fear." Robin spread her arms out to the side. "Don't you see? We are building the pathway to a glorious future!" Robin dropped her hands to the side as Gaara glared at her. "Pft. You would never understand. Seeing as you are a monster yourself." Gaara felt his chest tighten at these words. "You are a vile creature, rejected by both worlds. You are neither demon nor human. I do not know why I once risked death to try to save you. You are far from salvation." Gaara glared up at her, mustering all his hate into his glare. Robin smirked down at him, cruelty dancing across her face.

". . . . I don't care if I die in the process, I will kill you." Robin smirked at him.

"Really? Do you hate me that much?"

"No." Robin looked at him smugly.

"I see. You want to test your existence once more. I thought you have grown out of that phase."

"That's not why I will kill you Robin." Robin narrowed her eyes in curiosity.

"Really? Do tell. Why will you kill me?"

"It is because I love you that much." Robin took a step back, startled.

"What?" She whispered in disbelief. She had to have heard him wrong. The Emotionless Executioner refused to belief what she thought he said.

"I said, I love you that much." Robin shook his head in anger. It did not make sense! He was only trying to mess with her mind.

"NO!" The ninja shouted, confusion and anger flaring. "I've crushed your village without a care! I've crushed you! You will die soon because I have brought that fate upon you!" Her anger clouded her mind as she yelled at him.

"That doesn't change the fact that I still love you." His statement was like a slash of cold water in her face. Her startled look caused Gaara to smirk. "I will never hate again. Especially if its you. I could never hate you. No matter what you do." Robin narrowed her eyes in anger. Her rage was so thick it was almost as if Gaara could taste it.

"I've ruined your life! I've hunted you like an animal! I vowed to destroy you! I have destroyed you! Your demon is about to help Akatsuki take over the world! Demolish the world!"

"You haven't destroyed me, Robin."

"What!" Her disbelief was clear in her voice. "Look at what I've done to you!"

"No, the only way you could destroy me is if you reverse time and take away the feeling of having been loved. You can't destroy that."

"I can try Gaara! And I will!"

"No you can't. I've grown beyond you. You can't stand that. That is what makes you so angry. It is because I move forward in life. I will never be stuck in the past like you, ever again. That is why you can't destroy me!"

"Stuck in the past! You fool! I've moved on from you. You are the one stuck in the past! You can't stop thinking of me as some girlfriend! I'm not, Gaara." She glared at him, her anger rolling off of her. "I want it to be this way!"

"What way? All you have gotten this way is your own destruction. You've turned into a hideous beast. You've lost your soul Robin! Now all I can do for you is to kill you. Killing you before it's too late to save what's left of the woman I loved is all I care about."

"You are a fool. I'm about to help destroy the world and all you can do is sprout off things about love and saving me!" Anger flooded her mind, drowning out thought and reason. "I am not some little girl waiting to be saved!" Robin turned and stormed out of there.

* * *

"Bastard!" Robin hurled a lamp across the room, smashing it on the wall. She grabbed a chair and threw it to the side, causing it to topple over. Robin screamed in anger as she punched a wall, leaving a dent in it. She marched over to her bed. Robin fell onto her bed, still drowning in anger. "Arrogant, conniving, bastard!" She yelled out to no one. "Damn him!" Robin closed her mind, trying to calm herself. _'He can't still love me. He lies. He's just trying to get to me.'_ Robin sat up and kicked off her boots before pulling her legs up and crossing them. _'Besides . . . I can't love him.'_ Robin shoved off her long jacket and tossed it to the side. _'Not only that . . . .'_ Robin pulled off her hat and threw it to the side. She rested her hands on her knees. _'He will never love me as much as he loves the Sand.'_ She reached up and rubbed away a single tear. _'Not even after what they did to him. I'll always come second to him. And I can't be satisfied with that.'_ Robin sighed and brushed some hair away from her face. _'I'm too selfish to be able to accept that.'_ She held out a fist in front of her and stared at it. "If I can't have him, I will not allow the Sand to have him."She squeezed her fist tightly, drawing blood. Robin watched the blood trickle down her arm. _'Because after what they have done to him, they are far worse than me.'_ Her eyes narrowed. _'And for that, I will make them pay.' _Robin closed her eyes and sank into darkness. 


	13. The Best

The Best

Robin moved her neck back and forth, earning a popping sound. Another popping sound came as she stretched out her arms and flexed her fingers. With a sigh as pulled her arms back to her and push them out above her, trying to stretch as much as possible. As her mind grasped the memories of the night before her heart clenched.

"You fell asleep?"

"No." Robin looked over to see Itachi standing in her doorway. "I meditated all night."

"Why?" A cold smirk danced across her face.

"You shall see soon enough."

* * *

Setsuko jumped off her bird, followed by Yoko. After a small thank you the bird disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Setsuko-sama-" Yoko began but was cut off by Setsuko.

"Yoko, this is when you hang back and let me do the fighting. You-"

"Are going to die today." Setsuko's head snapped up in the direction of the eight Akatsuki. Robin looked over Setsuko's shoulder to see the groups from the Leaf and the Sand arrive. "Who do you guys want?" Itachi remained motionless as the others grinned cruelly at the Leaf and Sand shinobi.

"Does it really matter?" A woman spoke. Her long black hair was tied in a pony tail as she removed her straw hat.

"Itachi's mine." Sasuke hissed to the others. Over hearing this, Kisame grinned.

"Did you hear that, Itachi? You little brother wants to fight you pretty bad!" Lee dropped into a deep stance with his eyes on Kisame as Gai spoke.

"Because of his sword Lee will take Kisame." The woman with black hair barked out a harsh laugh.

"Looks like your fight is decided, Kisame."

"Naruto-kun is mine." Robin demanded, startling Naruto. "I have to see once and for all who deserves to be the best fighter in the Uzumaki clan." She turned her cold, emotionless eyes to the other woman. "Kaori. Take on Jiraiya." Robin felt a smirk tug at her lips. "He should be no match for you."

"Hai." A pale, thin man smirked as his spiked black hair was revealed when he removed his hat.

"I will take both the Hyuuga."

". . . Kento, you won't take longer than a minute to disable them both." Itachi muttered. Kento smiled.

"I don't think so. If they're Hyuuga, then I might break a sweat." Kento sent Itachi a smirk. "And what about you? Just your little brother?"

"It appears he wants it that way." Itachi watched as Sasuke tried to calm himself, remembering Sakura's words.

"I want the fan girl." A dark skinned man muttered to the others. His black eyes stared down Temari. "I will take Pinky too. What about you, Sasori?" A large mane grinned cruelly as puppets began to emerge from the ground.

"I'll fight Gai. I want to see how my puppets stand up to a Taijutsu specialist." The last man laughed at his partner's statement. "That leaves you with Kakashi, Deidara." Deidara, the last of the eight members smirked.

"I suppose that will be alright. After all, Setsuko is Ai's, yeah." Several puppets shot out of the ground near Setsuko and grabbed onto her, restraining her. Vines and branches nearby came to life and aided the puppets.

"What the hell!" Kakashi moved to help his wife but he ended up having to jump back because of a clay bird flying towards him. It exploded, the blast barely avoiding Setsuko. Kakashi glared at Deidara and revealed his sharingan. The male Akatsuki smirked cruelly at him as a mouth opened on each palm.

"This is gonna be fun, yeah." Kakashi glared at her before moving his hands through a set of seals and letting a stream of fire out towards Deidara, baking his clay birds and spiders. Meanwhile, Hinata and Neji both dropped into their family stances. Kento smirked and dodged each strike as the two cousins attacked in unison. He grabbed their wrists and swung them both to the side.

"Hinata-sama, summon a dragon while I distract him."

"Hai!" Hinata bit her thumb and ran through the seals, slamming her hand down onto the ground. Smoke blocked her from view as she felt herself being lifted up into the air on top of something. She watched as the cloud of smoke cleared to reveal a long white dragon. It shot forward, already anticipating her command and struck at Kento. The Akatsuki member leapt up high into the air and avoided the dragon. However, Neji appeared in front of him, moving quickly to cut off his chakra. Yet Kento managed to block at the hits and evade the dragon once more. He flipped in the air and landed on his feet.

"Pathetic. I thought two Hyuuga would be a challenge." The two Hyuuga charged forward once more, their movements coordinated.

* * *

Sasori had a wicked glint in his eyes as his puppets fought Gai. Gai had barely avoiding poisoning so far. But it was only a matter of time before his deadly puppets struck true. He watched in satisfaction as a puppet hit Gai across the face. He let out a low chuckle as poison dripped from the gash across Gai's face.

* * *

Setsuko felt the vines and branches cut into her flesh while she watched the others fight. The cold metal pressed hard against her skin.

"Yoko!" Setsuko yelled to her cousin. "I need you to try and get these restraints off me!" Yoko looked slightly shaken.

"But I don't know how-"

"Just do something! I need to help!" Yoko nodded and began to try and pry off the puppets.

* * *

Temari panted as she swung her fan again. The dark skinned man smirked as he hit Sakura in the stomach, sending her flying back. Temari jumped up into the air and caught Sakura, gently placing her on her feet once she touched the ground again. Sakura nodded her thanks while holding her stomach.

"How do you suppose we can take him down? All he's done so far is to dodge any attacks we throw at him and then knock us around." Temari grinned at Sakura.

"Well, I suppose we just force him to take us seriously." Sakura smirked and cracked her knuckles.

"I think I can do that."

* * *

Lee winced as he was thrown to the ground. Kisame laughed as he swung his sword above his head and brought it down roughly on Lee. Lee barely rolled out of the way, having a sleeve torn to shreds from the sword. Lee sent a powerful kick towards Kisame's head but Kisame used the base of his sword to block the kick, swreading part of Lee's leg warmer. Lee did several back flips away from Kisame and dropped into a deep stance. Kisame smirked as he charged forward, sword raised up high.

* * *

Itachi showed no emotion as he dodged a punch from Sasuke. He did grunt when Sasuke twisted around landed a firm kick into his older brother's ribs. Itachi jumped away from his brother and let loose a large ball of fire. Sasuke rolled out of the way and hurled several kunai towards him.

"Very good, little brother." Itachi deflected the kunai with one of his own.

"Bastard." Sasuke hissed, trying hard not to lose his temper.

* * *

Kaori dodged Jiraiya's attacks with ease. With a cold laugh as rolled to the side and avoided a mudslide.

"Look around you sannin. Everyone is falling because you are a foolish old pervert. And that's why I'll beat you." Kaori held out a hand to reveal it covered in a fine powder. She blew the powder off of her hand and let it fill the air. Kaori made a handseal and watched as the powder multiplied. Jiraiya blew fire from his mouth to try and burn the powder but it was too late. The powder solidified and formed large red crystals. Jiraiya finally got a good look at her forehead protector.

"So, you're a from the Cloud. You belong to that Shouka bloodline." Kaori smirked.

"I am the sole heir to the Shouka bloodline, thanks to Konoha's Yellow Flash! The bastard wiped out most of my family in the Great ninja Wars." The crystals grew as she blew more powder into the air. "And you're the one who taught that bastard! So I'll take my revenge on you!" Jiraiya made a series of hand seals and spat large balls of fire. However, creatures made of the red crystal had emerged from the crystals and batted away the fire balls.

* * *

Naruto spat out blood as he stood. Robin had just sent him tumbling back with a right hook. She smirked as she looked down at him. Naruto charged forward, pulling back to punch Robin. His cousin jumped up into the air and flipped over him, landing and kicking out behind her and into Naruto's back.

"Ahh!" He cried out in surprise as she spun around and kicked as he landed on the ground. Robin jumped back a fair distance and summoned her naginata.

"Naruto!" She yelled. "Fight me with everything you got!" Naruto looked back at his cousin and stared in disbelief.

"Look at what you've become." He whispered. Raising and eyebrow, Robin smirked.

"I like what I've become. I am acknowledged here. Back in Konoha I was just an Uzumaki. Here I am the Emotionless Executioner. And I wouldn't want it any other way." Robin lunged forward, sweep her naginata in an arch and narrowly missing Naruto as he jumped back.

"But you aren't known for Uzumaki Robin. You're known for just being a tool." Naruto ran through a series of seals and spat out mud. Robin jumped high in the air, dodging the mudslide. When she landed, Naruto was there with a punch. Robin was hit in the jaw but se managed to kick out and throw him back into the ground.

"That's what a ninja is!" Naruto disappeared in a golden flash and Robin barely had time to bring up her naginata to block the punch. Robin leaned back and avoided a punch from Naruto. Her leg kicked up and hit Naruto in the chin as she flipped back. With ease Robin landed and dropped down deep with her naginata ready. Naruto held out his hand and formed a rasengan. With a smirk Robin focused chakra into her naginata and began to twirl it. She twirled her favored weapon in front of her and channeled more chakra into it as Naruto slammed his rasengan into it. Robin was pushed back nearly ten feet. With a cold grin she lunged forward, this dropping her naginata to the ground as smoke arose from it. As she came closer to him, Naruto threw a punch. Robin ducked under the punch and slammed her fist into his stomach. As Naruto started to rise from the sheer force, Robin head butted him. The Uzumaki vessel flew back twelve feet before hitting the ground and tumbling to a stop.

"H-how . . . ." Robin jumped back and slid her foot under her naginata. With ease she kicked it up into her hand. "How-"

"-did I withstand a rasengan? Dear cousin, that's one of your favorite moves from you father, the fourth. You used it plenty of times when we sparred. To reduce the power all I had to do was channel more chakra into my naginata spin it clockwise with you rasengan. It took me a whole two weeks of nonstop work to find that weakness. And then to be able to preform it? I've just now got it down. Good thing, too." She dashed forward and slammed a punch where Naruto's head once was. Naruto had managed to duck under her punch and kick her feet out. Robin was able to do a handspring to avoid falling and landed a ways away from him. Robin rammed the blade of her naginata into the ground and let go of it. She dropped into a low stance and held one arm stretched out in front of her and one arm stretched out behind her. She shifted her weight onto her back foot and then shifted it to her front foot. "I know as many powerful jutsus as you. I know how to counter every one of you jutsus. Not only that, but I've studied the Uzumaki Forbidden Scrolls longer than you have! I have trained harder than you will ever! Do not presume to think that you can beat me without coming at me with the intent to kill me! Because that's how I'm coming at you!" She charged forward and avoided Naruto's kick. She grabbed onto his leg and spun around, taking him with her. She let go of him, causing her younger cousin to go flying into a tree. Wasting no time, Robin charged forward and slammed her elbow into the side of his face. Naruto tumbled down onto the ground and spat out blood. He was propelled back when a kick connected with his stomach. She spun around and caught a punch aimed for her head while Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She smirked as she looked at the real Naruto. "Pathetic." Robin pulled the fist towards her along with the body it was connected to and rammed her foot into the side of her younger cousin. She frowned as he disappeared in smoke. A surprised sound made its way out of her throat when Naruto's foot slammed down onto her head. There was no time for her to react when Naruto spun around and rammed his other foot into her chest. Thrown to the ground, Robin rolled back and spared no time in pushing off the ground with her hand and landing on her feet. "Fight me with everything you have!" Robin yelled as she charged forward. Sorrow danced in Naruto's eyes as he too charged forward. A golden flash blinded Robin and she leaned forward in time to avoid the punch. However, she was not prepared for the kick to the side of her face. _'A clone!'_

"Robin-kun!" Naruto yelled as he formed a rasengan and slammed it into her stomach. Robin was hurled back into the air and landed with a harsh thud. She wiped blood away from her mouth as she stood. The wind blew and ruffled her clothes. Robin let her hands go through several seals before she summoned a ball of lightening. With a cold look at Naruto she shoved it into her stomach and let out a painful cry.


	14. It Has Begun

It Has Begun

Naruto watched in horror as Robin slammed a ball of lightening into her stomach. With a cruel grin she looked up at him and outstretched her arm. Lightening shot forward from her fingertips. The lightening raced towards Naruto and knocked him back, off of his feet. The older Uzumaki smirked as she held her hands above her head. Lightening flickered between her hands.

"This is a new skill I've worked on. For a short time the summon becomes part of me. Normally this could kill a person." Robin appeared behind Naruto and rammed an electric punch into his back. A startled cry escaped his lips as he flew forward. "But with the Uzumaki bloodlimit of Unlimited Adaptability, all I experience is a little pain." Robin jumped high into the air and threw down bolts of lightening. Naruto had a hard time ducking and dodging all of the lightening but he managed to do so. When Robin landed Naruto tried to kick her but a electric shock sent him tumbling back. "We might not have any thing fancy to our name, but the bloodlimit is actually useful in its own way."

"D-damn you!" Naruto growled as he stood up. Robin charged forward and ducked under a punch from Naruto. She slammed her fist into his side.

"You don't learn, do you Naruto-kun?" Robin leapt up as Naruto started to stumble back and spun around, planting her foot into his chest. "You have to come at me with the intent to kill in order to beat me!" Robin pushed off of him and flipped in the air, landing on her feet. Naruto twitched as he tried to get up. He could still feel the jolts of electricity surging through him. Tilting her head back slightly, Robin smirked. The sparks of electricity around her faded. "Like I said, only for a short while. But in the time you've been dealt far more damage than throughout the whole battle." Gathering chakra into her fist, Robin punched down as hard as she could into the ground. Rocks flew up into the air and Robin disappeared among them. Naruto looked around to try and find her.

"There!" Spinning around, Naruto sent a punch into a rock behind him. He winced as he felt a bone break. However, Naruto pivoted around and blocked a kick from his cousin.

"You're weak Naruto-kun. So weak that you have failed everyone." Robin landed a few feet away from Naruto. "Look around you Naruto! Everyone has fallen because you are not strong enough!" Spreading out her arms, Robin indicated everyone around them. It was true. Almost every single person was on their last leg. Gai was fighting to stay conscious. Neji and Hinata were bruised and battered, barely standing up still. Jiraiya was panting from the massive amount of chakra he had used. Temari had her fan broken and Sakura was out cold. Kakashi was struggling against Deidara. Lee was bleeding freely, Sasuke was barely able to stay while his brother only had a few cuts ans scraps, and Yoko was using all her strength to pull off the puppets but to no avail. Naruto looked back at Robin and glared at her.

"Robin . . . you are a precious person to me. That is why I have to stop you." Robin barked out a harsh laugh.

"You and Gaara are so similar it's funny! He vows to kill because he loves me still. Have you ever heard of such a silly thing?" Robin smirked. "But wait, you obviously belong to the same sappy club that believes love will save everyone." Shaking her head in disgust Robin snorted. "Love is an illusion. It does not exist." Robin leaned back slightly and avoided the punch from Naruto. "As a ninja you should know that by now." Robin slammed her fist into Naruto's stomach and sent him flying back. "Naruto-kun, give up. Guts and effort aren't the only things that will prevail in a fight. In fact, they do not count for much." She moved to the side and avoided another punch from Naruto but raised her arms to block a kick. With ease she knocked the kick to the side and followed through with a punch to his head. Naruto moved his head back and avoided the punch. Naruto spun around and slammed his foot into her side. Flipping in midair, Robin managed land on her feet.

"I could never understand why you did this." Naruto muttered as he stared into his cousin's eyes. It was then that he realized how terrifying it was to fight an emotionless ninja. It was the deep void of nothing that would shake any enemy. It was the emptiness that could cause one to tremble. ". . . and I could never understand how you can be so heartless to your own family."

"Family?" She echoed. "What family? All I was to the Uzumaki was Keiko's daughter."

"Uzumaki . . . . Keiko." Naruto whispered as he remembered her mother.

"That's right. The only woman in the Uzumaki clan to have given up. A stain upon the Uzumaki name. Using her daughter so that she could commit suicide. Then backing out at the last minute, leaving a black hand on my foot from where she grabbed me before she died." Robin smirked as she charged forward. "But I now make up for her shame! I will never give in!" Her punch caught him in the face, throwing him to the ground. He barely had enough to to roll out of the way as her foot slammed down into the ground where his head laid. Robin spun around and blocked a kick from a clone of Naruto. With ease she jabbed her elbow into its face and caused it to disappear into smoke. She pivoted and dodged a kick from two Narutos. She had to jump into the air to avoid a rasengan and twisted around midair to dodge a punch from another Naruto. Landing with a light thud , Robin snapped her head up to look at Naruto and all his clones. "Impressive. I didn't see you make those clones. All that training with Tenshi must have paid off!" She kicked out into a clone, destroying it.

"Jealous?" Naruto challenged her, trying to bring forth any kind of emotion. It failed.

"I was only something to pass the time. That is why they trained me. They were only experimenting and waiting for you." Robin dropped down and kicked the feet out from under several clones. Only the real Naruto was left.

"Robin!" The Emotionless Executioner glanced at Itachi. "We need to go." Robin turned her eyes back to Naruto and smirked.

"Well, you got off easy this time, little cousin. Next time we fight I will not stop." Robin slammed her fist into his stomach and jumped back, far from Naruto. Naruto rolled to a stop and looked at Setsuko when her head a startled sound from Yoko and Setsuko. Setsuko had started to sink into the ground.

"Setsuko-sama!" cried Yoko as she tried to keep Setsuko above ground. Naruto rushed to her side and grabbed onto Setsuko's arm as a weak and worn out Kakashi appeared beside them and grabbed her other arm. However, Setsuko slipped from their strong grips and disappeared into the ground.

"SETSUKO!"

* * *

Robin moved swiftly down the corridors to Gaara's holding cell. Upon reaching the cell she glared down at him.

"You've come to extract the demon." His words rang out through the darkness. Robin stared down at him. Any emotion she might have felt was gone.

"You will die." It was a simple statement. There were no feelings behind the statement. No care or worry seeped into her words. Nothing. Gaara did not expect anything. He had long given up hope that she would care once more. Though he still cared for her, she had moved on. Accepting this was not easy, but Gaara did, none the less.

"I know." Robin tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. _'He is ready to die?'_

"Yet you do no beg for your life." A smirk crossed her face. "I was looking forward to that."

"I won't make deals with the devil, if that's what you're wondering." Itachi appeared behind Robin, startling Gaara.

"Robin, you need to go to the sacred seals. Everything has to be perfect in order for this to work." Robin took her eyes off Gaara and left without a word. Watching her walk away, Itachi smirked before looking down at Gaara.

"She belongs to me now."

"Robin belongs to no one." Gaara hissed with narrowed eyes. This statement caused Itachi to raise an eyebrow.

"Really? It that how you see it."

"That is how it truly is." Gaara stood up and looked Itachi dead in the eye. "Her heart is pure. Nothing like that retched thing you call a heart." Itachi activated his sharingan.

"Yet she is apart of Akatsuki. She looks to me now, not you. She has moved on. If you had only done the same you might have lived longer." Gaara felt himself be drawn into a world of genjutsu.

* * *

"Wake up, Setsuko-chan." Setsuko let out a groan as she eyes slowly cracked open. Her head hurt and she felt tired. Pain shot through her body when she tried to move. Setsuko bit back a startled cry of pain. "Ohh, did you get hurt?" There was a condescending tone in the woman's voice. Suddenly, another sharp pain surged through her, this time from a kick in the ribs. Setsuko felt the wind shift as another kick came towards her. A hand shot up and caught the foot before shoving it back roughly as she forced herself to stand, wincing at the pain. Her eyes cracked open and Setsuko came face to face with Ai.

* * *

Robin watched with a stoic face as Gaara was laid in the middle of a large holy seal. Eight large scrolls stood up at different points around the circle with the holy seal, all connecting to make an eight pointed star. Ancient runes, similar to the ones that appeared while Setsuko was casting a wind spell, were engraved into the ground. A crescent moon engraving was overlapped by the star. After watching the others pour holy water onto the scrolls along with blood Robin turned her eyes to Gaara. The genjutsu he was under broke as his scream echoed through her head. The eight pointed star light up. Greenish blue light poured out of the every line. A bright light emitted from Gaara as he thrashed back and forth, trying to stop the pain that ran through his body.

"Where is Ai?" Itachi looked at Robin through the corner of his eye.

"She went to finish Setsuko."

"Does she know that we are using the seal?"

"Hai." Robin turned her back on Gaara and walked away. "Where are you going?"

"To say goodbye to my cousin." Itachi nodded and turned back to Gaara as he screamed. Brown liquid oozed out of the seal and began to wrap around him. For a moment the liquid was blasted away. Itachi narrow his eyes in confusion. True, this was the first time they had used the seal, but it was not suppose to be repelled like that. He watched as more liquid rose up and tried to force its way down his throat. Yet once more it was repelled. Itachi looked to the others to see their faces clouded with confusion. The screams from the Kazekage rang out while the liquid was slowly being pushed back. Suddenly, Gaara disappeared. Not a trace of him was left behind.

"What on Earth?" Muttered Deidara. Itachi scanned the seal, searching for a clue to as where Gaara had gone.

"Kento, where could he have gone?" Kaori asked her partner, a frantic looked painted on her face. Kisame turned to Itachi.

"Itachi! We need to get Robin. She can summon him back, wherever he is." Suddenly everything clicked into place. Itachi spun around towards the corridor that Robin had gone done.

"ROBIN!"


	15. Run

Run

Lamia Deus panted heavily as she flew through the corridors. An emotionless look was etched onto her face when she heard it.

"Robin!" The voice bounced off the cavern walls and bombarded her. But the voice only made her clutch the red head in her arms closer to her and flap her winged hair faster in stronger beats. Once in awhile she would glance down at him before looking behind her quickly. It was maze down there. The only thing that soothed her was the fact that the Akatsuki would have to make their way through the maze too. Those strange eyes of hers scanned over the surroundings, searching for a way out. In her memory it should be coming up soon. An almost joyful look passed over her face when she saw a ray of light. She flew towards it at top speed, not bother to stop for the large boulder. She rammed her shoulder into the large rock that bocked the entry way. However, the rock wouldn't budge. So she repeated the process over and over again, trying to break free from the prison. She did not register her shoulder dislocating. All she knew was that they had to break out.

* * *

Setsuko felt bile rise to her throat as she clamped her hands over her mouth. Her eyes had fear in them as she stared out into the mass of dead, decaying bodies, still moving. The stench was enough to suffocate her. But the dead hands grabbing onto her when they got close was too much. Setsuko backed away, trying to to vomit.

"But I . . . . they're dead!" her voice was muffled by her hands but it still rang out through the silence.

"What's the matter?" Ai taunted. The supposedly dead woman stood far from the Bloodless Ninja. Her arms were extended out in front of her and her hands were stretched out. Tears rose to Setsuko's eyes as the zombies limped towards her. Setsuko looked up, terror in her eyes. "What? Still can't figure out how I'm alive?" Through her mask Ai smirked. "Simple really. My bloodlimit allows me to control the dead bodies with a small amount of chakra and blood. I just put a genjutsu on a dead body and had it fight you." Ai laughed cruelly at Setsuko. "Now you get see how much destruction you've reeked." Setsuko steeled herself against the impact and ran forward, fighting back bile every time she touched a corpse.

* * *

Naruto waited as Sakura healed everyone and Kakashi paced back and forth.

"We have to go find her!" The Copy Cat Ninja snapped at the others, anger radiating off of him. Naruto nodded as he stood from where he had been sitting.

"Hai! Setsuko-neechan shouldn't be deserted."

"But where should we start to look?" Argued Sakura.

"Sakura-chan is right." Yoko sighed as she stood. "But Setsuko-sama should not be forgotten. I came here to help her. Not to sit around and do nothing." Gai smiled brightly at Yoko.

"Worry not, young meiko! Now that we know what we're fighting, my eternal rival and I will have no problem rescuing his wife without a problem!" Jiraiya rolled his eyes at Gai's antics.

"I doubt Setsuko would take kindly to you acting like she's some weak damsel in distress. You've got to remember, Setsuko was one of the world's most wanted shinobi for a _long_ time."

"Let's just go save Setsuko-neechan!" Naruto snapped, startling several people. "Right now that Ai is there, trying to kill her!" Yoko looked down as sorrow ebbed away at her.

"But Naruto-kun . . . . we do not know where the Akatsuki is." Naruto sighed as he sat back down causing Sasuke to glare at everyone else while Sakura healed a broken rib of his.

"Can't Hinata or Neji check around?" He looked towards Hinata and her cousin Neji, both of which had just swallowed a solider pill.

"We can try." Hinata muttered before she and Neji activated their family bloodlimit. The two scanned as far as they could, searching for any kind of clue.

"There!" Neji hissed while pointing ahead of the group. "Lamia Deus with Gaara!" Hinata nodded, confirming this.

"Hai! She looks like she's stuck. There's a boulder blocking her way." Naruto did not even bother to hear any more as he charged out towards the direction Neji had pointed.

_'Robin! I'll save you, Setsuko, **and** Gaara.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he sped through the forest.

* * *

Finally the boulder gave way to Lamia Deus. The vampire god flew out of the hole with incredible speed. Only one thought was on her mind.

_'Gaara-kun . . . . I have to get him out of here.'_ Lamia Deus did not notice Naruto coming towards her. Nor did she notice the wire shooting out of the darkness until it was too late. Lamia Deus was yanked roughly back by the wire wrapped around her ankle. Flapping her wings with stronger strokes, she barely managed to stay out of the darkness she had just left. She let out a noise of her struggle and tried to break free.

"Robin-kun!" Itachi hissed as he emerged from the darkness. The other Akatsuki members jumped out, ready to fight. "Betrayal is not looked kindly upon." Lamia Deus shifted Gaara to one arm and held the other out. She sent a black ball of fire towards Itachi, causing him to duck and nearly losing the wire. She felt pain surge through her as she used her dislocated arm.

"You speak of betrayal like I was loyal to Akatsuki!" Snapped the winged woman as she struggled to break free. Suddenly kunai came fly towards the wire, snapping it in half. The god form wasted no time in taking high up into the air. Her strange eyes scanned over the ground and widened in surprise when she saw Naruto getting ready to face Itachi.

"Uzumaki Naruto . . . . stand aside and allow me to deal with the traitor." Itachi's eyes transformed into his family's famous eyes, the sharingan.

"You're one to talk!" Itachi ducked under the spinning kick his little brother gave him.

"Robin!" The woman looked down to see Kakashi and Jiraiya calling her. She flew down closer to them so they would not need to yell.

"Robin, what's going on?" Kakashi asked quietly. Lamia Deus looked down at the man in her arms.

"I have been a spy for Tsunade. No one was suppose to know in order for everyone's reactions to be real." She sighed and looked back as Deidara created clay birds and sent them flying towards them. However, Hinata jumped out in front of the birds and performed a kaiten, destroying the birds. Lamia Deus looked back in time to see a hand coming towards her. She didn't have enough time to respond as Kakashi slapped her across the face.

"That was for what you made my wife go through." Had she not been the Emotionless Executioner Robin would have looked away in shame.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi." Kento charged forward and kicked towards Hinata's head only to be blocked by Neji.

"This time, you will not win." Neji hissed before kicking Kento into a tree. Hinata smiled her thanks before the two Hyuuga closed in on Kento. Kisame moved to help Itachi would had been punched in the ribs by Sasuke but Lee intercepted and punched at Kisame. The man barely had time to bring up his sword and block the powerful punch. Lee followed up with a spinning kick only to have it blocked. However, Kisame was pushed back by the seer force in the kick. Lee back flipped away and managed to pull off his weights as the same time. Lee threw them to the side, leaving two craters when they landed. The taijutsu specialist disappeared and reappeared behind Kisame, kicking the back of his head. Kisame flew forward and rolled to a stop.

"Little brat!" Kisame roared before charging towards Lee. Gai had already destroyed one of Sasori's puppets. No one noticed as Yoko slipped by everyone and into the dark maze the Akatsuki had just left.

* * *

Setsuko glared up at Ai as she dodged a corpse's punch.

"You're sick." Ai smirked.

"You created me, so what does that make you?" Setsuko narrowed her eyes before she jumped up and spun around, kicking the heads of a few bodies. With a glare thrown up at Ai, Setsuko kicked away a corpse and gave an uppercut to another.

"You said that your blood was key to controlling them." Ai watched Setsuko suspiciously.

"What of it?" Setsuko smirked.

"I control blood." Ai's eyes widened in horror as she realized her mistake and Setsuko raised up her arms. The dead bodies stopped their movements as small trickles of red liquid left their bodies. Soon, Setsuko and Ai were the only ones standing.


	16. Death

Death

Lamia Deus knocked back blast of fire sent up towards her by Itachi. Sweet dripped off of her brow as she flew back to avoid more fire, all the while, clutching Gaara tightly, refusing to let him go. _'Gaara-kun, please wake up!'_ Robin pleaded in her mind. Lamia Deus shifted Gaara's weight so she could use both hands. With some difficultly, she summoned lightening to rain down upon the land. She tried to use more summonings but a pillar of water slammed into her and knocked her down onto the ground. Looking up, she saw Kisame grin before having to block a kick from Lee. Wincing on impact with the ground, Lamia Deus scrambled to her feet immediately. Sasuke landed near her after Itachi threw him away.

"Sasuke . . ." Lamia Deus whispered quietly. "Take Gaara and get out of here." Sasuke shot her an angry, confused look.

"No. I have to stay and avenge my clan!" The vampire god glared at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye.

"You will never avenge them if you die. Besides . . . . the life of a kage is more important then your revenge. I will slow Itachi down." She gently placed Gaara into Sasuke's arms. "Do not look back, no matter what." Lamia Deus bit down on her thumb and allowed her hands to go through the familiar jutsu. Slamming her hand down on the ground, markings spread out from her palm. Smoke rose up from the ground before clearing to show a silver wolf. "Take both of them and run to Konoha. Do not stop." She whispered quietly to the wolf. The summon turned to Sasuke and Gaara. "Go! I have to finish my mission."

"But my clan!" Argued Sasuke, earn a sigh from Lamia Deus.

"I know. You will have your chance." She looked back at Itachi who was staring at the three. "I cannot kill him. I'm not that strong. I can only stall him." She glanced over at Gaara in Sasuke's arms. "When he wakes up . . . . tell him that I have always loved him."

"What do you mean?" She smiled bitterly at Sasuke's question.

"I won't be around that long." Lamia Dues moved over to Gaara and quickly kissed him on forehead over the word 'love'. "Goodbye, Gaara-kun."

* * *

Ai was sent tumbling back from Setsuko's punch. Ai spat out the blood that had pooled in her mouth. 

"Bitch!" She hissed at the Uindo Bensha. Setsuko merely stared at Ai with a deadly look in her eyes. Ai grabbed her strange weapon and hurled it at Setsuko. Setsuko flipped over the weapon and landed in a crouch. Slowly she stood as Ai forced herself to stand.

"I have the advantage Ai. You're bloodlimit is useless. While you have trained hard to kill me, I trained even harder to survive." Ai launched herself at Setsuko with a short dagger. Setsuko leaned back slightly as she took steps backwards in order to avoid the dagger while Ai swiped it at her. After several failed attempts to cut Setsuko, Ai leapt back and threw kunai at Setsuko. Setsuko jumped high into the air and flipped in order to avoid the kunai.

* * *

Yoko paused and closed her eyes willing herself to slip into the darkness of her mind. She need to discover where Setsuko and to do that she had to try and use her powers to locate Setsuko's soul. As a meiko she was taught to find strange auras and powers in order to purify any evil that there might be. And with Setsuko's hybrid soul of a demon and a human, hers was the strangest soul out of them all. Yoko sighed as she found the soul. Now all she had to do was get out of the endless maze the Akatsuki had built. 

"Spirits of the lost." Yoko whispered as she clasped her hands in prayer. "Help guide me through the darkness." Yoko felt a stir in the air. She could feel many souls wandering with unrest. Her visions had told her that this place would be filled with souls of the undead but she never excepted this many. Yoko felt a tug at her heart as she reminded herself that she would have to make sure that all the souls were put to rest before she was done.

* * *

Robin stood before Itachi. She had let go of her form as Lamia Deus and summoned her naginata. 

"You stood a better chance as Lamia Deus."

"I will have to kill you." The Emotionless Executioner wielded her naginata with skill and grace as she twirled it.

"Didn't you just say that you could not kill me but only slow me down?"

"I did. But I, personally, will not defeat you." Robin dropped into a deep stance. "You of all people know that I have been training non-stop. I am the perfect tool. I have nothing outside of fighting. I was a failure even at love." With ease Robin rammed the naginata down into the ground and allowed her hands to float through unfamiliar seals. "I know that I will not live through this fight. But that doesn't mean I won't take you with me." After the finally seal she slammed her palm into her chest. A dark look cross her face as she stared down Itachi.

"I won't let that happen!" Itachi charged forward and punched only to hit air. Robin appeared behind him. She spun around and slammed her foot into the back of his head.

"First my speed doubles!" Robin grabbed Itachi's arm and spun around, throwing him into a tree. As Itachi got up Robin's hands went through another series of seals.

"You little-!" Itachi was cut short as Robin appeared in front of him and hit him in the face with her knee. Blood seeped out of his nose.

"Then my strength doubles!" Itachi barely had time to react as he was hurled to the side and knocked over Kaori who was fighting Jiraiya and Naruto. The two looked up in surprise as Itachi and Kaori tumbled over into a tree.

"Robin-kun?" Robin was breathing heavily. Naruto tried to stake a step towards her but was stopped by Jiraiya.

"Naruto-kun . . ." Robin panted. ". . . . forgive me for doing so much to you." Her hands flew through more seals. Naruto glanced at Jiraiya.

"What's she doing?" However, Jiraiya could not answer him.

"I've studied the Forbidden Scrolls longer than you have Naruto." Robin bit down on her hand, drawing more blood. She let the blood cover her hands before she moved into another set of seals. "In partially, the Forbidden Scrolls referring to my specialty, summonings." Robin held out her hands. "There is a summoning for something that even I do not know. However, I do know that it holds immense power. I need you to stall them long enough that I can get through this." Robin took a deep breath as Naruto and Jiraiya fought Kaori and Itachi. "Forgive me . . . mother. _Ancient Creatures beyond sight! Bring forth your mighty powers. Let my soul be yours to offer to your gods. Let my blood ring through to you. Bring forth your infinite souls!"_ Robin spread her arms far apart as blood dripped off of her hands. "_Come to me! I call you as a mere mortal! Uzumaki Robin offers her life to you."_

"Robin!" Robin looked back in time to see Gaara running towards her with an arm outstretched, reaching for her. Sasuke trailed him. Her eyes widened in fear as her emotionless mask broke right before smoke leaked out from the ground and blocked her from view.

* * *

Setsuko stumbled back and wiped away the blood that had trickled down from the corner of her mouth. Ai had dropped into an unfamiliar stance and surprised Setsuko with her speed. Speed was something Setsuko did not fair well with. She relied on power and the foresight of the wind. 

"I've studied you. I know you better than you know yourself." Ai taunted as she ran around Setsuko, only a blur and nothing more. Setsuko frantically tried to stop that blows Ai was landing on her yet she could do nothing. "I know that you weren't taught how to fight properly!" Setsuko was thrown back roughly as she received an uppercut to her chin. "You know only how to street fight!" Setsuko gasped out in pain as Ai rammed her foot into Setsuko's stomach. "I, on the other hand, have learned to fight in our village's special taijutsu!" Setsuko was knocked to the ground by one of Ai's kicks. "You are still Uzumaki Setsuko. You will _never_ become anything more than what you are now. Death is the only way for you now." Setsuko pushed herself up as Ai pulled out her strange weapon once again. Setsuko stumbled as she forced herself to stand and turn to look at Ai.

_'She's right.'_ Setsuko stood up. _'The only way is death . . . in order to win I have to die.'_ Setsuko closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. Setsuko slowly relaxed as she let everything go. Ai charged forward with a dagger in her hands. _'Not a shred of the past can remain.' _As she drew closer Setsuko's eyes snapped open. A dagger formed in her hand from when she wiped away the blood Ai had drawn. _'My old self, must die!'_ Blood filled the air.

"SETSUKO-SAMA!" Yoko screamed.

* * *

Sorry it took so long. Please review and tell me what you think.  



	17. 50,000 Tears

50,000 Tears

Gaara watched in horror as the smoke blocked out Robin from view.

"ROBIN!" Gaara screamed in vain. The smoke swirled around her and tightened.

"Bitch." Itachi muttered as he sent a powerful stream of of fire at smoke blocking Robin. However the fire stopped inches away from the smoke before it cleared to reveal a strange looking woman. The right half of her hair was black. Her long jet black hair clumped together and hung down. Bits of her hair were in front of her face. The left side was a golden hue with soft curls. Her right eye was a void, seemingly sucking everything in and letting nothing out. The other eye was a soft purple. There was no color to her skin. The ghostly white jumping out against the black she wore. Her clothes were two colors; black and white. The divide in colors was split right down the middle of her clothes. The left side was white, the right black. A long leather coat bellowed out from her slim form. It clung to her skin as it was buttoned closed. Her pale cleavage was shown, revealing that there was no shirt under the coat. The coat's sleeves flared pass her hands, hiding them from sight. Leather shorts peered out from under the coat. Long dark stockings reached up and stopped a few inches short of her shorts. The straps of fabric that connected the stockings to under her shorts were also black and white. The shoes she wore had three inch heels and buckled over her foot. The right foot clad in black and the left foot in white. They were boots but had been folded down, over themselves.

". . . Robin . . . ?" Gaara whispered in surprise. The woman turned her strange eye to him before turning back to Itachi. The Uchiha had sent a clone to attack her. A hand shot out from her sleeve and grabbed the clone's face. Two silver rings adorn her fingers and black polish covered her nails. Those strange eyes that were hers stared at the clone as it turned to ash and floated away on the wind.

"The entity you knew as Robin is no more." Her cold voice echoed.

"Ano . . . then what are you?" Naruto scratched his head in confusion as he asked.

"I am neither woman or man. The summoners for the Uzumaki can change shape but truly changing gender is not possible. So the summoned being takes the gender of the summoner." Outstretching her arm, Robin's naginata flew into her hands. She held it tightly as Gaara stepped forward.

"Where is Robin! Shouldn't she be in control!" Twirling with ease, the woman ducked under a wave of fire. She turned her eyes to Itachi once more.

"You are a complicated man." She narrowed her eyes. "But that does not excuse your actions."

"What would you know?" Itachi hissed, unsettled by her actions.

"I am the true embodiment of good and evil. I truly understand. I am truly saddened by all that has happened to cause a Uzumaki to perform this forbidden jutsu. Now I must fulfill my duty; Robin's dying wish."

* * *

Blood filled the air. 

"SETSUKO-SAMA!" Yoko screamed as she watched in horror. Ai slashed Setsuko's throat as Setsuko rammed her blood dagger up into Ai's skull. Ai and Setsuko both fell to the ground at the same time. Yoko ran towards Setsuko as blood began to pool beneath them both. "Setsuko-sama!" Yoko cried as she knelt beside the Bloodless Ninja. Setsuko had reached up and held her throat. She looked towards the young meiko. "Setsuko-sama!" With a weak smile Setsuko put pressure on her throat and used her special skill with blood to stop any bleeding. Yoko shook as she ripped part of her shirt and tied it around Setsuko's neck. "How much chakra do you have left?" Setsuko held up her hand with her fingers close together. This stirred a panic inside of the young meiko. She pulled Setsuko up and onto her back. "Hang on! I'll get you to Sakura-san!"

* * *

". . . Robin's . . . dying wish?" Gaara repeated, unable to believe the woman. The woman waved her hand and Itachi went flying back into the rock along with the rest of the Akatsuki members. A small nod confirmed this as the woman did not bother to look back at Gaara. 

"Yes." That word felt like Gaara had been physically struck, hard. "The entity you knew as Robin gave up its being to summon me. That is the price of my summoning." Gaara held his head in his hands and shook his head back and forth.

"No." He whispered softly. "NO!" Roared Gaara. He didn't notice the tears running down his face. "NO! YOU'RE LYING!" The Akatsuki charged forward only to be thrown back by an invisible force.

"Let us end this." The woman lifted up her hands and blue lightening shot forth out of her hands. The Akatsuki withered in pain as she lifted them up into the air. Sasuke shook his head.

"NO! I have to avenge my clan!" The woman did not bother to look back as Sasuke was held back by his girlfriend Sakura.

"You misunderstand me. Robin's dying wish was to fulfill her mission. And her mission was to capture and detain these criminals. Once I have sealed off their chakra, then you may capture these criminals. My duty will be over as Robin's mission will be complete." Gaara shook his head violently.

"NO! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER AWAY! YOU CAN'T!" The woman finally looked back at Gaara.

"I know all the Robin knew. I felt all that Robin felt. She never betrayed you. No matter what her mission required of her, her heart was loyal to you."


	18. Promise

I know, I know, where the hell have I been? Truth be told, I lost interest in the story and I didn't want to destroy it by having it be only have hearted. So I think I might be able to finish it. Here goes.

Promise Me

"Take me instead." The entity that had taken over Robin's body looked back at the demon vessel of the sand. The Akatsuki laid on the ground, unconscious, as Jiraiya and Gai tied them up.

"That is not possible." She shook her head. "The one known as Robin has already created a contract with me."

"Then make one with me!" The strange woman closed her eyes and walked over to Gaara. Opening them once more, she stared down at the redhead and shook her head again. "Why not!" Gaara demanded.

"It is not as simple as taking your life instead of hers. It is Uzumaki Robin's wish that you live. That you no longer are in danger."

"It was also her wish for Gaara to be happy, no?" Everyone looked back to see Yoko helping Setsuko out of the maze. Kakashi's eyes widened when he saw the blood on his wife's neck.

"What happened?"

"Ai slit her throat. Sakura, please heal Setsuko-sama's throat. She does not have much more chakra." Sakura nodded and began the seals to heal. Once through with the complex hand seals, blue chakra was visible around her hands. She placed them over the gash in Setsuko's neck and watched as the wound healed. Yoko turned back to the woman. "What will it take for Robin to be saved?"

"Robin can not be saved. She has given her soul for-"

"Then take mine!" Gaara cut her off, making her turn to him again.

"That would defy her dying wish." She closed her strange eyes once more and tilted her head to the side. Her pale lips were in a frown as she spoke again. "I am truly saddened by all that has happened. I understand that Uzumaki Robin finally achieved her goal. She did not want to be left behind. That is why she took such a dangerous mission. But you must remember, she loved you." Opening her eyes once more, she gazed down at Gaara. "But she has given her life to summon me. My duty is to fulfill her final wish. Which I have done. The Akatsuki is no longer a threat. Now I must leave."

"Please!" Gaara grabbed onto her arm. "Please, don't take her from me." The woman gently removed his hand from her arm.

"Gaara . . . you must remember that I cannot deviate from my duty."

"There has to be a way around this." Yoko pleaded as she looked at the unique woman. "The Forbidden Scrolls always have some kind of loophole. Isn't there one in this summoning?" Once more she closed her weird eyes and shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. The summoning requires a life."

". . . . there is so much death in the air . . ." Everyone looked back to Setsuko as she spoke. "Is there not enough death here? If you truly understand, then you know that Robin wants Gaara to be happy and safe. How can he do that when Robin is dead and gone." The woman sighed.

"Uindo Bensha . . . the wind has no matter in this affair."

"That is for me to decide alone." Setsuko snapped as she stood up.

"No, I decide whether or not-"

"I know the summoning. You are both evil and good. But you must stay balanced. You can neither side with one person or another. You do not decide. You merely do what it takes to stay balanced." The woman pressed her lips into a thin line in thought. She took a minute before she spoke again.

"What would you have me do, Uindo Bensha? The summoning requires a life." Setsuko gently shook her head.

"No. It requires a soul. Take your pick. There are thousands here."

"It does not work like that and you know it. They have to be willing _and_ a Uzumaki summoner. It was a Uzumaki summoner that summoned me, it is a Uzumaki summoner's soul I need." The woman would have said more but stopped. She nodded her head. "Very well. That will suffice." She fell to the ground, leaving confused shinobi staring at her. Smoke covered her body and when it faded away, Robin laid on the ground.

"ROBIN!" Gaara cried and rushed to her side. Sakura hurried over to her and checked the girl.

"She's breathing. Everything seems fine." Sakura explained. Yoko knelt beside Robin and placed her hand over the girl.

"She still has her soul . . . but why?" Yoko muttered to herself. Sand surrounded Robin and lifted her up into Gaara's arms. He held her close to him. "She summoned that . . . . woman. She shouldn't be alive. How?" Asking herself this, Yoko stood up and pondered the answer.

"I don't care how. All I know is that I won't make the same mistake twice." Gaara whispered quietly to Robin.

* * *

Uzumaki Robin had been put in the hospital in the Leaf. The Akatsuki had be tried and executed a week after she had been omitted. And in that time, nearly everyone she knew had sent flowers to her bedside and Gaara of the Desert did not leave her side.

"Gaara . . ." Temari entered the room and looked down at Robin.

"She still hasn't woken up." Gaara mumbled to his sister as she sat beside him.

"Oh." Silence filled the air and was only disturbed by the beeping from the heart monitor. "I think I saw Yoko leaving."

"Yeah . . . she was here for a little bit."

"Has she figured out what happened?" Gaara shook his head.

"No . . . I really don't care. All I know is that I get a second chance."

". . . . why hasn't she woken up yet?" It took several minutes before Gaara answered his older sister.

". . . . they say . . . that she used up too much chakra . . . that she was sleep deprived . . . . and that she had been using her bloodlimit too much. Tsunade-sama came by . . . she confirmed this and . . . she said it was up to Robin's desire to wake up." Gaara reached out and brushed away some hair out of her face. She looked so peaceful. Her hair had been pulled out of the braid and flowed out like gentle, blonde waves.

". . . oh." Temari looked around the room at all the flowers. "Looks like Ino's shop is making a big profit." Gaara nodded absently as he watched Robin, never taking his eyes off of her. He wanted to be there, watching her when she woke up. "Looks like almost every kind of flower is here."

"She allergic to dandelions. I made sure that none were brought in here." Temari looked at him surprised.

"How do you know that?" Gaara smiled bitterly as he remembered.

"One day, Robin was walking with me and she started to sneeze. After looking around, she spotted some dandelions and told me that she was allergic."

". . . oh." Temari stood up. "I'll leave you be." Gaara nodded and listened to his sister walk away and close the hospital door. He waited several minutes before speaking, once more brushing some hair away from her delicate face.

"Can you her me?" Nothing. Not the slightest movement other than the rise and fall of her chest. The only answer he had was the constant beep of the heart monitor. "I know . . . . I know that you wanted to try and keep up . . . . but . . . . did you really have to do that?"

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

". . . . but then again . . . . I didn't leave you with much of a choice. It was either do something drastic or get left behind, I guess." Gaara smiled weakly down at her. Her chest rose and fell steadily.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

". . . . I'm sorry I doubted you. I had thought you actually turned traitor. But you were faithful. You put yourself in so much danger just to get me out of it."

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"But . . . . please . . . . don't give up. Tsunade-sama said . . . ."

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

". . . . she said . . . . you might just give up. That most of this was up to you. Up to whether or not you wanted to live." Gaara squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't stand to think of losing her again when he had been so close to getting her back.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Please Robin. Please. I promise that I won't leave you behind ever again. I _promise_. I can't lose you again." Gaara looked up at her with tears in his eyes. " . . . I just want a happy ending, for once. I don't think I can do this without you. Please. Wake up."

_Beep. Beep. Beep._


End file.
